STATE PAPERS 

ON 

NULLIFICATION: 

INCLUDING THE PUBLIC ACTS OF THE 

CONVENTION OF THE PEOPLE 

OF 

80UTH CAROL.ir¥A, 

ASSEMBLED AT 

COLUMBIA, NOVEMBER 19, 1832 AND MARCH 11, 1833; 

THE 

PROCLAMATION 

OF THE 

Jjttsitrent of ttje mnittrf States, 

AND THE 

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVERAL STATE LEGISLATURES 

WHICH HAVE ACTED ON THE SUBJECT. 



COLLECTED AND PUBLISHED 
BY ORDER. OF THE GElVERAIi COURT OF 3IASSACHUSETTS, 

Under the direction of the Committee on the Library. 




iJoston: 

DUTTON AND WENTWORTH, PRINTERS TO THE STATE. 
1834. 



l?'^'^ 



eommonttiealtli of M^^^^f^nmttn. 



House of Representatives, March 26, 1833. 

Ordered, That the Joint Committee on the Library be instruct- 
ed to collect the documents received from the State of South 
Carolina on the subject of Nullification, the Proclamation of the 
President of the United States, and the communications from 
the several States in relation thereto, and to cause the same to 
be printed and bound, for the use of the members of this Legis- 
lature. 

Sent up for concurrence. 

L. S. CUSHING, Clerk. 



Concurred. 



In Senate, March 26, 1833 



CHA'S. CALHOUN, Clerk. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



In the folloiinng table, the titles of all the papers comprehended in the 
volume, a few of lohieh were received too late to he inserted in their pro- 
per places, are arranged in the natural order of the subjects, with refer- 
ences to the pages at tvhich they respectively appear. 



Journal of the Convention of the People of South Carolina, assem- 
bled at Columbia, November 19, 1832, .... 295 
Report of a Committee of the Convention, to vrhom was referred 
an Act to provide for calling a Convention of the People 

of South Carolina, 1 

An Ordinance to nullify certain Acts of the Congress of the United 
States, purporting to be laws laying duties and imposts on 
the importation of foreign commodities, .... 33 

Address to the People of South Carolina, by their Delegates in 

Convention, 37 

" to the People of the United States, by the Convention of 

the People of South Carolina, 59 

Proclamation of the President of the United States of America, . 75 

Resolves on the proceedings of the Convention of the People of 
South Carolina, and on the Proclamation of the Pre- 
sident of the United States, by the Legislature of New 

Hampshire, 101 

" on the same subjects, by the Legislature of Maine, . 105 

Report of a Committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts, on the 

same subjects, 112 



Resolves on the same subjects, by the Legislature of Massachusetts, 128 

" " " " " " Connecticut, . 285 

Report on the same subjects, of a Committee of the Legislature of 

New York, 133 

Resolves on the same subjects, by the Legislature of New York, 158 

" " " " " " N. Jersey, 163 

" " " " " " Pennsylvania, 169 

Report on the same subjects, of a Committee of the Legislature of 

Delaware, 175 

Resolves on the same subjects, by the Legislature of Delaware, . 190 

" " « " « « Maryland, . 289 

" " " " " " Virginia, . 195 

« " " « « " North Carolina, 201 

" « « " " « Ohio, . . 205 

Further Resolves of the Legislature of Ohio, on the same subjects, 209 

Resolves on the same subjects, by the Legislature of Indiana, . 213 

" « « " " « Illinois, . 377 

Report on the same subjects, of a Committee of the Legislature 

of Alabama, ... 219 

Resolves on the same subjects, by the Legislature of Alabama, . 222 

Recommendations of the Legislature of Alabama to the President 
of the United States, to the State of South Carolina, and to 

the different States, 224 

Report upon the same subjects, of a Committee of the Legislature 

of Mississippi, .... 229 
Resolves on the same subjects, by the Legislature of Mississippi, 231 
" of the Legislature of South Carolina, proposing a Con- 
vention of the States, 237 

" proposing a Convention of the States, erroneously certi- 
fied by the authorities of Georgia, as having been 
adopted by the Legislature of that State, . . . 238 

Report of a Committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts, on the 
Resolves of South Carohna, proposing a Convention of the 

States, 244 

Resolves on the same subject, by the Legislature of Massachusetts, 256 

« " « Ohio, . . 208 

Report of a Committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts, on the 
supposed Resolves of the Legislature of Georgia, proposing 

a Convention of the States, 258 

Resolves of the Legislature of Massachusetts, on the same subject, 267 

Letter from the Governor of Georgia to the Governor of Massa- 
chusetts, correcting the error committed in regard to the 
supposed Resolves of the Legislature of Georgia, . . 269 



Resolves of the Legislature of Georgia, proposing a Convention of 

the States, as in fact adopted, 271 

Report of a Committee of the Legislature of Mississippi, on the 

Georgia Resolves, 297 

Resolves of the Legislatiire of Mississippi, on the same subject, . 280 

Journal of the second session of the Convention of the People of 

South Carolina, assembled at Columbia, March Jl, 1833, . 321 

Resolves of the Legislature of Virginia, appointing B. W. Leigh, 

Esq., Commissioner to the State of South Carolina, . . 328 

Correspondence between the Commissioner of Virginia and the 

Governor of South Carolina, 331 

Report of a Committee of the Convention, on the mediation of 

Virginia, 347 

" with amendments, as adopted, 355 

Ordinance of the Convention, repealing the Ordinance to nullify 

the Tariff Laws, 352 

Report of a Committee of the Convention, on the Act of the Con- 
gress of the United States further to provide for the collec- 
tion of duties on imposts, 363 

Ordinance to nullify an Act of the Congress, entitled an Act fur- 
ther to provide for the collection of duties on imposts, com- 
monly called the Force Bill, 373 



REPORT. 



/ 



The Committee to whom was referred "the Act to provide for 
the calling of a Convention of the people of this State," with 
instructions "to consider and report thereon, and especially 
as to the measures proper to be adopted by the Convention, 
in reference to the violations of the Constitution of the United 
States, in the enactment by Congress on divers occasions of 
laws laying duties and imposts for the purpose of encouraging 
and protecting domestic manufactures, and for other unwar- 
rantable purposes," beg leave respectfully to submit the fol- 
lowing 

REPORT : 

The Committee deeply impressed with the importance of the 
questions submitted to them, and the weight of responsibility in- 
volved in their decision, have given to the subject their most de- 
liberate and anxious consideration. In stating the conclusions to 
which they have arrived, they feel that it is due to themselves, to 
this Convention, and to the public at large, briefly to review the 
history of the Protecting system in this country, to show its 
origin, to trace its progress, to examine its character, point 
out its evils, and suggest the appropriate remedy. They pro- 
pose to execute this task with all possible brevity and simplicity, 
sensible that the subject is too well understood in all its bear- 
ings to require at this time a very elaborate investigation. 
2 



In the natural course of human affairs, the period would have 
been very remote when the people of the United States would 
have engaged in manufactures, but for the restrictions upon our 
commerce, which grew out of the war between Great Britain 
and France, and which led to the non-intercourse act, the em- 
bargo, and finally our own war of 1812. Cut off by these events 
from a free commercial intercourse with the rest of the world, 
the people of the United States turned their attention to manu- 
factures, and on the restoration of peace in IS 15, an amount of 
capital had been already invested in these establishments, which 
made a strong appeal to the liberality, we might almost say to 
the justice of the country, for protection, at least against that 
sudden influx of foreign goods, which it was feared would entirely 
overwhelm these domestic establishments. When therefore in 
1816 it became necessary that the Revenue should be brought 
down to the peace establishment, by a reduction of the duties 
upon imports, it was almost by common consent conceded to 
the claims of the manufacturers, that this reduction should be 
gradual, and three years were accordingly allowed for bringing 
down the duties to the permanent revenue standard, which (em- 
bracing all the ordinary expenses of the government, with libe- 
ral appropriations for the Navy and the Army, an extensive 
system of fortifications, and the gradual extinction of the public 
debt, then amounting to $130,000,000,) was fixed at 20 per 
cent. If the manufacturers had at that time even hinted that 
permanent protection was deemed indispensable to their suc- 
cess, — if the slightest suspicion had been entertained that in- 
stead of the gradual reduction expressly provided for by the act 
of 181G, there would be claimed a gradual increase of the pro- 
tecting duties, and that instead of being brought down in three 
years to 20 per cent., the duties were to be carried up to 
50 or 100 per cent., and in many cases to prohibition, — the pain- 
ful contest in which the country has been engaged for the last 
ten years on this subject would have commenced immediately, 
and it is confidently believed that in the temper of the public 
mind at that time, ample security would have been found against 
the introduction of such a system. But in defiance of the clear 
understanding of the whole country, and in violation of the 
principles of justice and of good faith, that part of the act above- 



mentioned which required that the duties should be reduced in 
three years to 20 per cent., was repealed, and a broad founda- 
tion thus laid for the permanent establishment of the protect- 
ing system. This system has been still further extended and 
fortified by the several successive acts of 1820, 1824, and 1828, 
until by the passing of the act of 1832, (to lake effect after the 
discharge of the public debt,) it has become incorporated into 
our political system, as the "settled policy of the country." 
We have not deemed it necessary, in tracing the origin and pro- 
gress of this system, to go further back than the commercial 
restrictions which preceded the late war ; — for whatever theo- 
retical opinions may have been expressed by Alexander Hamil- 
ton and others in relation to it, at an earlier period, it cannot be 
denied that no duties were actually imposed beyond those 
deemed indispensable for the public exigencies, and that prior 
to the year 1816, no protection whatever was actually extended 
to manufactures, beyond what was strictly incidental to a sys- 
tem for revenue. The discrimination between the protected and 
unprotected articles now contended for as the very corner stone 
of the protecting system, was so far from being established by 
that act, that the highest duties were actually imposed on the 
very articles now admitted duty free, while the foreign manu- 
factures which came into competition with our domestic fabrics 
were subjected to a lower rate of duty. The truth then unques- 
tionably is, that the protecting policy, according to the princi- 
ples now contended for, was never introduced into this country 
until the period we have mentioned, when it crept insidiously 
into the legislation of Congress in the manner above described. 
This will be made abundantly manifest to every one who will 
take the pains to trace the progress of the duties from 7^ per 
cent., in 1790, up to 25 per cent., in 1816, 40 per cent., in 
!824, and 50, 60, and even 100 per cent., in 182S and 1832, and 
who will merely examine the manner in which these duties were 
adjusted in the various acts here referred to. As early as 1820, 
so soon indeed as the capitalists who had relied upon the powers 
of the Federal Government to enhance the profits of their in- 
vestments by legislation, began to look forward to its eventful 
establishment as the settled policy of the country, they clearly 
perceived that an extension of the appropriations to objects not 



embraced in the specific grants of the Federal constitution, was 
the necessary appendage of their system. They well knew that 
the people would not long submit to the levying of a large sur- 
plus revenue merely for the protection of manufactures, carried 
on almost exclusively in one quarter of the Union ; and they 
therefore sought in the extension of the appropriations to new 
objects, for a plausible and popular excuse for the continuance 
of a system of high duties. With that instinctive sagacity, 
ivhich belongs to men who convert the Legislature of a country 
into an instrument for the promotion of their own private ends, 
they clearly saw that the distribution of an enormous surplus 
treasure, would afford the surest means of bringing over the 
enemies of the American System to its support, and of enlisting 
in their cause not only large masses of the people, but entire 
States who had no direct interest in maintaining the protecting 
system, or who were even, in some respects, its victims. No 
scheme that the wit of man could possibly have devised, was 
better calculated for the accomplishment of this object. It pro- 
posed simply to reconcile men to an unjust system of national 
policy, by admitting them to a large share of the spoils ; — in a 
word, to levy contributions by the aid of those who were to 
divide the plunder. If the United States had constituted one 
great nation, with a consolidated Government, occupying a ter- 
ritory of limited extent, inhabited by a people engaged in simi- 
lar pursuits, and having homogeneous interests, such a system 
would only have operated as a tax upon all the other great in- 
terests of the State, for the benefit of that which was favored by 
the laws, and when time had been allowed for the adjustment 
of society to this new condition of its aftairs, the final result 
must have been an aggregate diminution of the profits of the 
whole community, by diverting a portion of the people fror.i 
their accustomed employments to less profitable pursuits. In 
such a case, the hope might perhaps have been indulged that 
experience would demonstrate the egregious folly of enacting 
laws, the only effect of which would be, to supply the wants of 
the community at an increased expense of labor and capital. 
But it is the distinguishing feature of the American System, and 
one which stamps upon it the character of peculiar and aggra- 
vated oppression, that it is made applicable to a Confederacy 



of twenty-four Sovereign and Independent States, — occupying 
a territory upwards of 2000 miles in extent, — embracing every 
variety of soil, climate, and productions, — inhabited by a people 
whose institutions and interests are in many respects diametri- 
cally opposed to each other, — with habits and pursuits infinitely 
diversified, — and in the great Southern section of the Union, 
rendered by local circumstances altogether incapable of change. 
Under such circumstances, a system, which under a consolidated 
Government would be merely impolitic, and so far, an act of 
injustice to the whole community, becomes in this country a 
scheme of the most intolerable oppression, because it may be, 
and has in fact been, so adjusted as to operate exclusively to the 
benefit of a particular interest, and of particular sections of 
country, rendering in effect the industry of one portion of the 
confederacy tributary to the rest. The laws have accordingly 
been so framed as to give a direct pecuniary interest to a sec- 
tional majority, in maintaining a grand system, by which taxes 
are in effect imposed upon the few, for the benefit of the many; — 
and imposed too, by a system of indirect taxation, so artfully 
contrived, as to escape the vigilance of the common eye, and 
masked under such ingenious devices as to make it extremely 
difficult to expose their true character. Thus under the pretext 
of imposing duties for the payment of the public debt, and pro- 
viding for the common defence and general welfare, (powers 
expressly conferred on the Federal Government by the Consti- 
tution,) acts are passed containing provisions designed exclu- 
sively and avowedly for the purpose of securing to the American 
Manufacturers, a monopoly in our own markets, to the great and 
manifest prejudice of those who furnish the agricultural produc- 
tions which are exchanged in foreign markets for the very arti- 
cles which it is the avowed object of these laws to exclude. It 
so happens, that six of the Southern States, whose industry is 
almost exclusively agricultural, though embracing a population 
equal to only one third part of the whole Union, actually pro- 
duce for exportation near 40,000,000 annually, being about two- 
thirds of the whole domestic exports of the United States. As 
it is their interest, so it is, unquestionably, their right, to carry 
these fruits of their own honest industry, to the best market, 
without any molestation, hindrance, or restraint, whatsoever, and 



subject to no taxes, or other charges, but such as may be neces- 
sary for the payment of the reasonable expenses of the govern- 
ment. But how does this system operate upon our industry ? 
While imposts to the amount of 10 or 12 per cent., (if arranged 
on just and equal principles) must be admitted to be fully ade- 
quate to all the legitimate purposes of Government, duties are 
actually imposed (with a few inconsiderable exceptions) upon 
all the Woollens, Cottons, Iron and Manufactures of Iron, Sugar, 
and Salt, and almost every other article received in exchange for 
the Cotton, Rice, and Tobacco of the South, equal on an ave- 
rage to about 50 per cent., whereby (in addition to the injurious 
effects of this system in prohibiting some articles, and discour- 
aging the introduction of others,) a tax equal to one-half of the 
first cost is imposed upon the Cottons, Woollens, and Iron, 
which are the fruits of Southern industry, in order to secure an 
advantage in the home market, to their rivals the American 
Manufacturers of similar articles, equivalent to one-half of their 
value, thereby stimulating the industry of the North, and dis- 
couraging that of the South, by granting bounties to the one, 
and imposing taxes upon the other. 

The Committee deem it unnecessary to go into an elaborate 
examination of the true character and sectional operation of the 
protecting system. The subject has of late been so frequently 
and thoroughly examined, and the bearing of the System been 
so completely exposed, that the argument is exhausted. To the 
people of the Southern States, there cannot be presented a more 
touching or irresistible appeal, either to their understandings or 
their hearts, than is found in the melancholy memorials of ruin 
and decay which are every where visible around us, — memorials 
proclaiming the fatal character of that system, which has brought 
upon one of the finest portions of the globe, in the full vigor of 
its early manhood, the poverty and desolation, which belong 
only to the most sterile regions, or to the old age and decrepi- 
tude of nations. The moral blight and })estilence of unwise 
and partial legislation, has swept over our fields, with "the 
besom of destruction." The proofs are every where around us. 

It is in vain for any one to contend that this is a just and 
equal system, or that the Northern States pay a full proportion 
of the tax. If this were so, how is it to be accounted for, that 



high duties are regarded in that quarter of the Union, not as a 
burden, but as a blessing ? 

How comes it that a people, certainly not unmindful of their 
interests, are seen courting the imposition of taxes, and crying 
out against any material reduction of the public burdens ? Does 
not this extraordinary fact afford conclusive evidence that high 
duties operate as a bounty to Northern industry ; and that what- 
ever taxes the manufacturers may pay, as consumers, they are 
more than remunerated by the advantages they enjoy as produ- 
cers ? — or, in other words, that they actually receive more than 
they pay, and therefore cannot be justly said to be taxed at all ? 
When, in addition to all this, we take into consideration that 
the amount of duties annually levied for the protection of manu- 
factures, beyond the necessary wants of the Government, 
(which cannot be estimated at less than 10 or 12,000,000) is ex- 
pended almost exclusively in the Northern portion of the Union, 
can it excite any surprise, that under the operation of the Pro- 
tecting System, the manufacturing States should be constantly 
increasing in riches, and growing in strength, with an inhospita- 
ble climate and barren soil, while the Southern States, the 
natural garden of America, should be rapidly falling into decay ? 
It is contrary to the general order of Providence, that any coun- 
try should long bear up against a system, by which enormous 
contributions, raised in one quarter, are systematically expended 
in another. If the sixteen millions of dollars now annually 
levied in duties on the foreign goods received in exchange for 
Southern productions were allowed to remain in the pockets of 
the people, or by some just and equal system of appropriation 
could be restored to them, the condition of the plantation States 
would unquestionably be one of unexampled prosperity and 
happiness. Such was our condition under a system of free 
trade, and such would soon again be our enviable lot. Of the 
results which would thereby be produced, some faint conception 
may be formed by imagining what would be the effect upon the 
industry of the people of our own State, if the <^S,000,000 of 
foreign goods now annually received in exchange for our pro- 
ductions, and paying duties to the amount of upwards of 
<^3, 000,000, could be obtained by us duty free, or the duties 
thus levied, were expended within our own limits. Is it not ob- 



vious that several millions per annum would thereby be added 
to the available industry of South Carolina? the effect of which 
would assuredly be, to change the entire face of affairs in this 
State, by enhancing the profits of the agriculturists, accumulat- 
ing capital, giving a fresh impulse to commerce, and producing 
a vivifying influence upon every department of industry, the 
happy consequences of which would be experienced by every 
inhabitant of the State. We present this strong view of the 
subject, to shew the manifest justice of the claim which South 
Carolina now sets up to have this system of raising revenue by 
duties upon imports restricted within the narrowest limits, and to 
shew how utterly impossible it is for us to consent to have it ex- 
tended beyond the indispensable wants of the government, 
either for the purpose of affording protection to the industry of 
others, or of distributing the proceeds among individuals or 
States. 

Grievous, however, as the oppression unquestionably is, and 
calculated in the strong language of our own Legislature, "to 
reduce the Plantation States to poverty and utter desola- 
tion," it is not in this aspect that the question is presented in 
its most dangerous and alarming form. It is not merely that 
Congress have resorted for unwarrantable purposes to an op- 
pressive exercise of powers granted to them by the Constitution; 
but that they have usurped a power not granted, and have justified 
that usurpation on principles, which, if sanctioned or submitted 
to, must entirely cliange the character of the Government, re- 
duce the Constitution to a dead letter, and on the ruins of our 
confederated republic, erect a consolidated despotism, " without 
limitation of powers." If this be so, there is no man who is 
worthy of the precious heritage of liberty derived from our an- 
cestors, or who values the free institutions of his country, who 
must not tremble for the cause of freedom, not only in this 
country, but throughout the world, unless the most prompt and 
efficient measures are at once adopted, to arrest the downward 
course of our political aflairs, to stay the hand of oppression, to 
lestore the Constitution to its original principles, and thereby 
to perpetuate the Union. 

It cannot be denied that the (Government of the United States 
possesses no inherent powers. It was called into being by the 



9 

States. The States not only created it, but conferred upon it 
all its powers, and prescribed its limits by a written charter 
called the Constitution of the United States. Before the Fede- 
ral Government had thus been called into being, the several 
States unquestionably possessed as full sovereignty, and were as 
independent of each other as the most powerful nations of the 
world ; and in the free and undisputed exercise of that sove- 
reignty, they entered into a solemn compact with each other, 
by which it was provided, that for certain specified objects, a 
General Government should be established with strictly limited 
powers ; — the several States retaining their sovereignty unim- 
paired, and continuing to exercise all powers not expressly 
granted to the Federal Government. 

In the clear and emphatic language of Mr. Jefferson, "the 
several States composing the United States of America, are not 
united on the principle of unlimited submission to the General 
Government, but by a compact under the style and title of the 
Constitution of the United States, they constituted a General 
Government for special purposes, delegated to that Government 
certain definite powers, reserving each State to itself the resi- 
duary mass of right to their own self-government, and whenso- 
ever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its 
acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force."* That such is 
the true nature of the Federal compact, cannot admit of a rea- 
sonable doubt, and it follows of necessity, that the Federal 
Government is merely a joint agency, created by the States, — 
that It can exert no power not expressly granted by them, and 
that when it claims any power, it must be able to refer to the 
clause in the charter which confers it. This view of the Con- 
stitution of the United States, brings the question of the consti- 
tutionality of the Tarifl:' within the narrowest limits. 

The regulation of domestic industry, so far as Government may 
rightfully interfere therewith, belonged to the several States be- 
fore the Constitution was adopted, or the Union sprang into 
existence ; and it still remains exclusively with them, unless it 
has has been expressly granted to the Federal Government. If 
such a grant has been made, it is incumbent on those claiming, 

*See Kentucky Resolutions of 1778. 



10 

under it, to point out the provision in the Constitution which 
embraces it. It must be admitted that there is not a clause or 
article in that instrument, which has the slightest allusion either 
to manufactures or to agriculture : while, therefore, the "regu- 
lation of commerce" is expressly conferred on the General Gov- 
ernment, the regulation of every branch of domestic industry 
is reserved to the several States, exclusively, who may afibrd 
them encouragement, by pecuniary bounties, and by all the other 
means, not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United 
States. To say that the power to regulate commerce embraces 
the regulation of agriculture, and manufactures, and all other 
pursuits of industry, (for they all stand Uj)on the same footing,) 
is to confound the plainest distinctions, and to lose sight of the 
true meaning and intent of the grant in question. Commerce 
is, in general, regulated by treaties with foreign nations ; and, 
therefore, it was deemed necessary that this power should be 
confided to the General Government : but agriculture, manu- 
factures, and the mechanic arts, can only be wisely ordered by 
municipal regulation. Commerce is one object of legislation, 
manufactures another, agriculture a third ; and if the regulation 
of commerce implies an unlimited control over every thing 
which constitutes the object of commerce, it would follow, as a 
matter of course, that the Federal Government may exert a su- 
preme dominion over the whole labor and capital of the coun- 
try. This would transform our confederated Government, with 
strictly limited powers, into an absolute despotism, and of the 
worst sort, where, under the forms of a free Government, we 
should have the spirit of a despotic one. This view of the sub- 
ject, we should deem perfectly conclusive, even if it could not 
be shewn that the power in question, so far from being granted, 
was purposely withheld from the Federal Government, by the 
framers of the Constitution ; and that there are provisions of the 
Constitution, from which it may be fairly inferred, that it was 
intended to be reserved to the States respectively. It appears 
from the history of the proceedings of the Convention which 
framed the Constitution, that the subject of the protection of 
manufactures, was several times brought distinctly to the view of 
that body, and that they did not see fit to grant to the Federal 
Government the power in question. In the original proposition, 



11 

to confer on Congress the power to impose "duties, imposts, 
and excises," was embraced "prohibitions and restraints," which 
may well be supposed to be intended to embrace the protection 
of manufactures ; but it is is remarkable, that these words were 
omitted in the Report of the Committee, on that clause. On 
the ISth of August, a motion was made, "to establish rewards 
and immunities, for the promotion of agriculture, commerce, 
trades, and manufactures ;" but this proposition also failed. On 
a subsequent day, it was moved, that there should be " a Secre- 
tary of Domestic Affairs, dz-c, whose duty it should be to attend 
to matters of general police, the state of agriculture and manu- 
factures, the opening of roads and navigation, and facilitating of 
intercourse through the United States ; and that he shall, from 
time to time, recommend such measures and establishments as 
may tend to promote these objects." This proposition likewise 
failed, the Constitution containing no provision in conformity 
therewith. 

Now, as it is utterly impossible, that these several propositions, 
embracing imposts, duties, prohibitions and restraints, and the 
encouragement of manufactures, could have been disposed of, 
without bringing the whole question of domestic manufactures 
fully into view, it must follow, that, as no power was given to 
Congress over manufactures, while the power to regulate com- 
merce is expressly conferred, it was not the intention of the fra- 
mers of the Constitution, to entrust this power to Congress. Al- 
though repeatedly urged to confer such a power, they constantly 
refused it ; and the Constitution, as finally ratified, contains no 
provision, whatever, upon the subject. In the Report of Luther 
Martin, a delegate from Maryland, made to the Legislature of 
his State, an explanation is given of the proceetimgs of the 
Convention, in relation to this matter, which removes every 
shadow of doubt, with regard to the true meaning and intent of 
the framers of the Constitution, in relation to the protection of 
manufactures. It appears from this statement, that, as the en- 
couragement of manufactures had been refused to be conferred 
upon the Federal Government, it was the desire of Mr. Martin 
and others, to reserve to the states all the means which they sup- 
posed to be necessary for affording effectual encouragement to 
manufactures within their own limits. Among those it was pre- 



12 

sumed "that there might be cases in which it would be proper 
for the purpose of encouraging manufactures to lay duties to 
prohibit the CAportation of raw materials, and even in addition to 
the duties laid by Con;;;rc 3 on impcits for the sake of revenue, to 
lay a duty to discourage the inipcrtrtion of particular aiticles 
into a State, or to enable .he manuiacturer here to srpply us 
on a" good terms as could be obtained from a foreign market."* 
Here it will be seen that it is positively stated by Mr. Martin 
that the power given to Congress to impose duties upon imports, 
was piven expressly "for the sake of revenue," and was not con- 
sidered as extending to any duty "to discourage the importation 
of particular articles, for the purpose of encouraging manufac- 
tures," and that it was considered that unless the several States 
should possess this power as well as that of prohibiting the ex- 
portation of certain raw materials, they would not be enabled to 
extend that complete protection to tlieir own manufacturers 
which might be deemed indispensable to their success. "The 
most, however," says Mr. Martin, "which we could obtain, was, 
that this power might be exercised by the States, by and with 
the consent of Congress, and subject to its control." Thus, then, 
it manifestly appears, that in relation to manufactures, the framers 
of the Constitution positively refused to confer upon the Federal 
Government, any power whatever; — that the power to lay duties, 
&c., was conferred for the sake of revenue alone, and was not 
intended to embrace the power to lay duties "to discourage the 
importation of particular articles, to enable the manufacturers 
here to supply us on as good terms as could be obtained from a 
foreign market ;" and finally, that the whole subject was left in 
the hands of the several States, with the restriction, "that no 
State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any impost or 
duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely ne- 
cessary for executing their inspection laws." This power, it 
appears, was expressly inserted for the purpose of enabling the 
States to protect their own manufactures ; and this, it seems, 
was the only provision which friends of domestic industry could 
obtain. It is vain to allege that the powers retained by the 
States on this subject, are inadcciuate to the effectual accom- 

*Yatcs's Secret Debates in ihc Convention, p. 71. 



13 

plishment of the object. If this were so it would only shew the 
necessity of some further provision on this subject, — but surely 
it will not be pretended that it would justify the usurpation by 
Congress of a power, not only not granted by the Constitution, 
but purposely withheld. 

We think, however, that this exposition of the Constitution 
places the protection of manufactures on the true foundation, on 
which it should stand in such a Government as ours. Nothing 
can be more monstrous than that the industry of one or more 
States in this confederacy, should be made profitable at the ex- 
pense of others, and this must be the inevitable result of any 
scheme of legislation by the General Government, calculated to 
promote Manufactures by restrictions upon Commerce or Agri- 
culture. But leave manufactures where agriculture and other 
domestic pursuits have been wisely left by the Constitution — 
with the several States; and ample security is furnished that no 
preference will be given to one pursuit over another, and if it 
should be deemed adviseable in any particular State, to extend 
encouragement to manufactures, either by direct appropriations 
of money, or in the way pointed out in the Article of the Con- 
stitution above quoted, that this will be done not at the expense 
of the rest of the Union, but of the particular State whose citi- 
zens are to derive the advantages of those pursuits. Should 
Massachusetts, for instance, find it to her advantage to engage 
in the Manufacture of Woollens or Cottons, or Pennsylvania be 
desirous of encouraging the working of her Iron Mines, let those 
States grant bounties out of their own Treasuries, to the persons 
engaged in these pursuits ; and should it be deemed adviseable 
to encourage their manufactures by duties, "discouraging the 
importation of similar articles," in these respective States, let 
them make an application to Congress, whose consent would 
doubtless be readily given to any acts of those States, having 
these objects in view. The Manufacturers of Massachusetts 
and Pennsylvania would thus be encouraged at the expense of 
the people of these States respectively. But when they claim 
to do more than this, — to encourage their industry, at the ex- 
pense of the industry of the people of the other States, to pro- 
mole the Manufactures of the North, at the expense of the Agri- 
culture of the South, by restrictions upon Commerce, — in a word, 

r 



14 

to secure a monopoly for their manufactures, not only in their own 
market, but throughout the United States, then we say, that the 
claim is unjust, and cannot be granted consistently with the 
principles of the Constitution, or the great ends of a Confedera- 
ted Government. We shall not stop to inquire whether, as has 
been urged with great force, that provision of the Constitution, 
which confers the power upon Congress "to promote the pro- 
gress of science and the useful arts, by securing, for limited 
times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their re- 
spective writings and discoveries," does not, by a necessary im- 
plication, deny to Congress the power of promoting the useful arts 
(which include both agriculture and manufactures) by any other 
means than those here specified. It is sufficient for our purpose 
to shew that the power of promoting manufactures as a distinct 
substantive object of legislation, has no where been granted to 
Congress. As to the incidental protection that may be derived 
from the rightful exercise of the power, either of regulating com- 
merce, or of imposing taxes, duties and imposts, for the legiti- 
mate purposes of government, — this certainly, may be as freely 
enjoyed by manufactures as it must be by every other branch of 
domestic industry. But as the power to regulate commerce, 
conferred expressly for its security, cannot he fairly exerted for 
its destruction, so neither can it be perverted to the purpose of 
building up manufacturing establishments, — an object entirely 
beyond the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, — so also, the 
power to levy taxes, duties, imposts and excises, expressly given 
for the purpose of raising revenue, cannot be used for the dis- 
couragement of importations, for the purpose of promoting man- 
ufactures, without a gross and palpable violation of the plain 
meaning and intent of the federal compact. Acts may be pass- 
ed on these subjects, falsely purporting, on their face, to have 
been enacted for the purpose of raising revenue and regulating 
commerce, — but if in truth, they are designed (as the Acts of 
1824, 1S28, and 1832, confessedly and avowedly have been) for an 
entirely different purpose, viz : for the encouragement and pro- 
motion of manufactures — the violation of the Constitution is not 
less gross, deliberate and palpable, because it assumes the most 
dangerous of all forms, a violation by perversion, the use of a pow- 
er granted for one purpose, for another and a diiferent purpose, in 



15 

relation to which, Congress has no power to act at all. On the 
whole, even from the very brief and imperfect view which we have 
here taken of this subject, we think we have demonstrated that 
the protecting system is as gross and palpable a violation of 
the Constitution, according to its true spirit, intent and mean- 
ing, as it is unquestionably unequal, oppressive and unjust in 
its bearing upon the great interests of the country, and the seve- 
ral sections of the Union. 

But great as are the evils of the American System, fatal as it 
assuredly must be to the prosperity of a large portion of the 
Union, and gross as is the violation of the letter and spirit of the 
Constitution which it perpetrates, the consequences which must 
inevitably result from the establishment of the pernicious princi- 
ples on which it is founded, are evils of still greater magnitude. 
An entire change in the character of the Government is the nat- 
ural and necessary consequence of the application to the Consti- 
tution of those latitudinous rules of construction, from which this 
system derives its existence, and which must "consolidate the 
States by degrees into one sovereignty ; the obvious tendency 
and inevitable result of which would be to transform the present 
representative system of the United States into a Monarchy."^ 

We fearlessly appeal to all considerate men, whether it be in 
the nature of things possible, to hold together such a Confeder- 
acy as ours, by any means short of a military despotism, after it 
has degenerated into a Consolidated Government ; — that is to 
say, after it shall come to be its established policy to exercise a 
general legislative control over the interests and pursuits of the 
whole American People. 

Can any man be so infatuated as to believe, that Congress 
could regulate wisely the whole labor and capital of this vast 
Confederacy? Would it not be a burden too grievous to be 
borne, that a great central Government, necessarily ignorant of 
the condition of the remote parts of the country, and regardless 
perhaps of their prosperity, should undertake to interfere with 
their domestic pursuits, to control their labor, to regulate their 
property, and to treat them in all respects as dependent Colonies, 
governed not with reference to their own interests but the inter- 

*Madisou's Report. 



16 

ests of others? If such a state of things must be admitted to be 
altogether intolerable, we confidently appeal to the sober judg- 
ment and patriotic feelings of every man who values our free in- 
stitutions and desires to preserve them whether the progress of 
the Government towards this result has not, of late years, been 
rapid and alarming? and whether, if the downward course of our 
affairs cannot be at once arrested, the consummation of this 
system is not at hand? No sooner had Congress assumed the 
power of building up manufactures, by successive tariffs, calcu- 
lated and intended to drive men from agriculture and commerce 
into more favored pursuits, than internal improvements sprung 
at once into vigorous existence. Pensions have been enlarged to 
an extent not only before unknown in any civilized country, but 
they have been established on such principles, as manifest the 
settled purpose of bestowing the public treasure in gratuities to 
particular classes of persons, and particular sections of country. 
Roads and canals have been commenced, and surveys made in 
certain quarters of the Union, on a scale of magnificence, which 
evinces a like determination to distribute the public wealth into 
new and favored channels ; and it is in entire accordance both 
witli the theory and practice of this new system, that the Gener- 
al Government siiould absorb all the authority of the States, and 
eventually become the grand depository of the powers, and the 
general guardian and distributor of the wealth of the whole 
Union. It is known to all who have marked the course of our 
national affairs, that Congress has undertaken to create a Bank, 
and have already assumed jurisdiction over science and the arts, 
over education and charities, over roads and canals, and almost 
every other subject, formerly considered as appertaining exclu- 
sively to the States; and that they claim and exercise an unlim- 
ited control over the appropriation of the public lands as well as of 
the public money. On looking, indeed, to tlie legislation of the 
last ten years, it is impossible to resist the conviction, that a fatal 
change has taken place in the whole policy and entire operation 
of the Federal Government ; that in every one of its depart- 
ments, it is, both in theory and practice, rapidly verging towards 
Consolidation ; asserting judicial supremacy over the sovereign 
States, extending Executive Patronage and influence to the re- 
motest ramifications of society, and assuming legislative control 



17 

over every object of local concernment ; thereby reducing the 
Stales to petty corporations, shorn of their sovereignty, mere 
parts of one great whole, standing in the same relation to the 
Union as a county or parish to the State of which it is a subor- 
dinate part. 

Such is the true character, and such the inevitable tendencies 
of the American System. And when the case, thus plainly 
stated, is brought home to the bosoms of patriotic men, surely it 
is not possible to avoid the conclusion, that a political system, 
founded on such principles, must bear within it the seeds of pre- 
mature dissolution, and that though it may for a season be ex- 
tended, enlarged and strengthened, through the corrupting influ- 
ence of patronage and power, until it shall have embraced in its 
serpent folds all the great interests of the State, still the time 
must come when the people, deprived of all other means of es- 
cape, will rise up in their might and release themselves from this 
thraldom, by one of those violent convulsions, whereby society 
is uprooted from its foundations, and the edict of Reform is 
written in blood. 

Against this system, South Carolina has remonstrated in the 
most earnest terms. As early as 1820, there was hardly a dis- 
trict or parish in the whole State, from which memorials were not 
forwarded to Congress, the general language of which was, that 
the protecting system was "utterly subversive of their rights and 
interests." Again, in 1823 and 1827, the people of this State 
rose up almost as one man, and declared to Congress and the 
world, "that the protecting system was unconstitutional, oppres- 
sive and unjust." But these repeated remonstrances were an- 
swered only by repeated injuries and insults, by the enacting of 
the tariflfs of 1824 and 1828. To give greater dignity, and if 
possible more effect to these appeals, the Legislature, in Dec. 
1825, solemnly declared, "that it was an unconstitutional exer- 
cise of power on the part of Congress, to lay duties to protect 
domestic manufactures," and in 1828, they caused to be present- 
ed to the Senate of the U. States, and claimed to have recorded 
on its Journals the solemn Protest of the State of South Carolina, 
denouncing this system as " utterly unconstitutional, grossly un- 
equal and oppressive, and such an abuse of power as was incom- 
patible with the principles of a free government, and the great 
4 



18 

ends of civil society," and that they were " then only restrained 
from the assertion of ihe sovereign rights of the State, by the hope 
that the magnanimity and justice of the good people of the Union 
would effect an abandonment of a system partial in its nature, 
unjust in its operation, and not within the powers delegated to 
Congress." And finally, in Dec. 1830, it was Resolved, "That 
the several Acts of Congress, imposing duties on imports, for the 
protection of domestic manufactures are highly dangerous, and 
oppressive violations of the constitutional compact; and that 
whenever the States which are suffering under the oppression, 
shall lose all reasonable hope of redress from the wisdom and 
justice of the Federal Government, it will be their right and duty 
to interpose, in their sovereign capacity, for the purpose of ar- 
resting the progress of the evil occasioned by the said unconsti- 
tutional acts." 

Nor has South Carolina stood alone in the expression of these 
sentiments : Georgia and Virginia, Alabama and Mississippi, 
and North Carolina, have raised their voices in earnest remon- 
strances and repeated warnings. Virginia, in 1S28, in respond- 
ing to South Carolina, declared "that the Constitution of the 
United States, being a Federative compact between sovereign 
States, in construing which no common arbiter is known, each 
State has a right to construe the compact for itself; and that 
Virginia as one of the high contracting parties, feels itself bound 
to declare, and does hereby, most solemnly declare its deliberate 
conviction, that the acts of Congress usually denominated the 
Tariff Laws, passed avowedly for the protection of domestic 
manufactures, are not authorized by the plain construction, true 
intent and meaning of the Constitution." 

Georgia, through her Legislature, pronounced this system to 
be one "which was grinding down the resources of one class of 
the States to build up and advance the prosperity of another of 
the same confederacy — and which they solemnly believed to be 
contrary to the letter and spirit of the Federal Constitution," 
and declared it to be the right of the several States, in case of 
any infraction of the general compact, "to complain, remon- 
strate, and even refuse obedience to any measure of the General 
Government manifestly against and in violation of the Constitu- 
tion, that otherwise the law might be violated with impunity, 



19 

and without redress, as often as the majority might think proper 
to transcend their powers, and the party injured would be bound 
to yield an implicit obedience to the measure, however uncon- 
stitutional, which must tend to annihilate all sovereignty and in- 
dependence of the States, and consolidate all power in the 
General Government, which never was designed nor intended 
by the framers of the Constitution." 

Alabama also protested against " the attempt to exclude the 
foreign in favour of the domestic fabrics, as the exercise of a 
power not granted by the Constitution," and concluded by 
stating, " that she wished it to be distinctly understood, that in 
common with the other Southern and Southwestern States, she 
regards the power asserted by the General Government, to con- 
trol her internal concerns by protecting duties, as a palpable 
usurpation of powers not given by the Constitution, and a spe- 
cies of oppression little short of legalized pillage." 

North Carolina, in the same spirit, declared, that while " it 
was conceded that Congress have the express power to lay im- 
posts, she maintains that that power was given for the purpose 
of Revenue, aftd Revenue alone, and that every other use of the 
power is an usurpation on the part of Congress." And, finally, 
the Legislature of Mississippi, "Resolved, that the State of Mis- 
sissippi concurs with the States of Georgia, South Carolina, and 
Virginia, in their different resolutions upon the subject of the 
Tariff, Colonization Society, and Internal Improvement." 

It has been in the face of all these remonstrances and pro- 
tests, and in defiance of these repeated warnings and solemn 
declarations, that the recent modification of the Tariff, by the 
Act of 1832, was effected. The period of the final extinction 
of the Public Debt, had always been looked to as the crisis of 
our fate, when the policy of the country, in reference to the 
Protective System, was to be finally settled. It was the period 
assigned by common consent, as the utmost limit of the forbear- 
ance of South Carolina, whose citizens felt that in the adoption 
of that System, their Constitutional Rights had been trampled 
on, and their dearest interests cruelly sacrificed. 

No one could fail to perceive, that whenever a pretext for the 
continuance of the high duties under which the Southern States 
had sufiered for so many years, was taken away by the payment 



20 

of the National Debt, and the consequent relief of the Treasury 
from an annual demand of twelve millions of dollars; that no 
reason could be given why these duties should not be brought 
down to the revenue standard, except that it was deliberately 
designed to secure to the Manufacturers for ever, the monopoly 
they had so long enjoyed, at the expense of the other great in- 
terests of the country. 

We find, accordingly, that the new Tariff, which is intended 
to take effect, only after the final extinguishment of the Public 
Debt, has been arranged and adjusted with a single eye, to the 
perpetuation of this System ; and with an entire disregard of 
the just claims of the Plantation States Whatever may be the 
amount of the aggregate reduction eftected by this bill, (and it 
is not pretended in the latest Treasury estimate, to exceed 
^5,000,000, of which near 4,000,000 of dollars are on the un- 
protected articles,) it is not denied that it will leave a surplus 
of many milions in the Treasury, beyond the usual expenses or 
necessary wants of the Government ; and it is notorious — nay, 
it appears on the face of the Bill itself, that while duties to the 
amount of 40, 50, and even 100 per cent., are still to be levied 
upon the protected articles, (that is to say, upon all the Cottons, 
Woollens, and Iron, the Sugar, and the Salt, and other articles 
embraced in the Protecting System ;) the duties on the unpro- 
tected articles, have been reduced greatly below the revenue 
standard, and upwards of $3,000,000, entirely repealed ; so, that 
according to this System, as now established, a large surplus 
revenue to be applied to Internal Improvements and other un- 
warrantable purposes, is to be levied by the imposition of enor- 
mous Taxes on the necessaries of life, the very articles received 
chiefly in exchange for Southern productions; and this has 
been done, in order to protect the industry of the North, with 
which ours comes into competition, while the articles of luxury 
universally acknowledged to be the fittest subjects lor taxation, 
are to be admitted duty free.'* 

Now, let it be remembered, that the very point in controversy, 
has all along been, not the Revenue, but the Protecting duties, 
and yet we see, that in answer to all our petitions and remon- 

*See Treasury Estimate publislicd in August last, siicwiiig an aggreijate reduction of 
$6,187,018, of which ^3,108,631 were made entirely free. 



21 

strances, Congress has been graciously pleased to make an ad- 
justment of the Tariff, which simply consists in taking off the 
duties imposed for Revenue, while the protecting duties are 
allowed to remain substantially untouched. It was not so much 
the amount of the imposition, as the inequality and injustice of 
the Protecting System, that has roused the people of South 
Carolina to determined resistance ; and yet we find, that this 
inequality has been aggravated, and that injustice perpetuated 
by the deliberate adoption of a measure, which was calculated 
and intended to rivet this System upon us, beyond all hope of 
relief. 

The grave and solemn question now occurs, what is to be done 
to redeem ourselves from the state of Colonial vassalage into 
which we haVe unhappily fallen ? Shall we still continue to 
wait for a returning sense of justice on the part of our oppress- 
ors ? We are thoroughly persuaded, that the hope can no longer 
be indulged, that the Tariff majority in Congress will, of their 
own accord, relieve us from this cruel bondage ; experience 
teaches us that this expectation so long and fondly indulged, is 
utterly delusive. The only effect of further delay must be to 
strengthen the hand of the oppressor, to crush the public spirit, 
deaden the sensibility of the people to the inestimable value of 
their rights, and teach them the degrading lesson of wearin^^- 
their chains in patience. It is almost inconceivable that any 
reflecting man can believe that the crisis in our affairs, arising 
from the final extinction of the public debt, should be suffered 
to pass away, without reducing the tariff" to the revenue standard, 
and yet that such reduction may be expected to take place at 
some future period. What period so auspicious as that which 
has been allowed to pass away unimproved .f* Is any one so 
ignorant of human nature, as not to know that the annual sur- 
plus, which then will be brought into the Treasury, under the 
act of 1832, will be speedily absorbed by new and enlarged ap- 
propriations, serving as additional props to a system, which some 
vainly imagine to be tottering on its base, ready to fall under its 
own weight.^ Even at the last session of Congress, the annual 
appropriations were enlarged by several millions of dollars, in 
anticipation of this expected surplus ; and the foundation is 
already laid for its absorption, and when this shall be accom- 



22 

plished, where will be the hopes of those who now say that the 
evil is to correct itself, and who tell us that the act of 1832, 
which was in fact designed to rivet the system upon the country 
for ever, and was hailed by its friends as '■ a clear, distinct, 
and indisputable admission of the principle of protection," is to 
be viewed as a blessed reform presenting the brightest auspices 
for the future ? The truth unquestionably is, that the American 
System is from its very nature progressive. When its founda- 
tions were laid, it was foreseen and predicted that the great 
interests which it would build up, would exert a controlling in- 
fluence over the legislation of the country. The history of the 
world, indeed, affords no example of a voluntary relinquishment 
by a favored class of any pecuniary or political advantage, se- 
cured to them by the laws and general policy of the country. 
Force has often torn from the hands of the oppressor his un- 
righteous gains, but reason and argument are as vain in con- 
vincing the understanding, as appeals to justice and magna- 
nimity have ever proved to be impotent in softening the hearts 
of those who are enriched under the operation of laws passed 
professedly for the public good. Who is there, that can for 
one moment believe that any thing short of a direct appeal to 
their interests, will induce the dependants upon the Federal 
Government, the wealthy sugar planters and iron masters, or the 
joint stock companies, who have millions invested in cotton and 
woollen factories, yielding under the operation of the protecting 
system an annual income of 10 or 20 per cent., voluntarily to 
relinquish the advantage secured to them by the laws, and con- 
sent to come down to a level with the other classes of the com- 
munity.? It is impossible. From every view then which your 
Committee have been able to take of this subject, they are con- 
strained to announce to this Convention the solemn truth, that 
after more than ten years of patient endurance of a system, 
which is believed by the people of this Stale to be fatal to their 
prosperity, and a gross, deliberate, and palpable violation of iheir 
constitutional rights ; after the most earnest and unavailing ap- 
peals to that sense of justice, and those common sympathies, 
which ought to bind together the different members of a con- 
federated republic, the crisis has at length arrived, when the 
question must be solemnly and finally determined, whether there 



23 

remain any means, within the power of the State by which these 
evils may be redressed. 

It is useless to disguise the fact, or to attempt to delude our- 
selves on this subject ; the time has come when the State must 
either adopt a decisive course of action, or we must at once aban- 
don the contest. We cannot again petition, it would be idle to 
remonstrate, and degrading to protest. In our estimation it is 
now a question of Liberty or Slavery. It is now to be decided, 
whether we shall maintain the rights purchased by the precious 
blood of our fathers, and transmit them unimpaired to our pos- 
terity, or tamely surrender them without a struggle. We are 
constrained to express our solemn conviction, that, under the 
protecting system, we have been reduced to a state of "colonial 
dependence, suffering and disgrace," and that unless we now fly 
with the spirit which becomes freemen, to the rescue of our lib- 
erties, they are lost forever. Brought up in an ardent devotion 
to the Union of the States, the people of South Carolina iiave 
long struggled against the conviction, that the powers of the 
Federal Government have been shamefully perverted to the pur- 
poses of injustice and oppression. Bound to their brethren by 
the proud recollections of the past, and fond hopes of the future, 
by common struggles for liberty and common glories, acquired 
in its defence, they have been brought slowly, and with the ut- 
most reluctance, to the conclusion, that they are shut out from 
their sympathies, and made the unpitied victims of an inexorable 
system of tyranny, which is without example in any country 
claiming to be free. Experience has at length taught us the 
lamentable truth, that administered as the government now is, 
and has been for several years past, in open disregard of all the 
limitations prescribed by the Constitution, the Union itself, in- 
stead of being a blessing must soon become a curse. Liberty, 
we are thoroughly persuaded, cannot be preserved under our 
system without a sacred and inviolable regard not merely to the 
letter, but to the true spirit of the Constitution ; and without 
liberty the Union would not be worth preserving. If then there 
v/ere no alternative but to submit to these evils, or to seek a rem- 
edy even in Revolution itself, we could not, without proving our- 
selves recreant to the principles hallowed by the example of our 
ancestprs, hesitate a moment as to our choice. We should say, 



24 

in the spirit of our fathers, "we have counted the cost, and find 
nothing so intolerable as voluntary slavery." But we cannot 
bring ourselves for one moment to believe that the alternative 
presented to us is revolution or slavery. We confidently be- 
lieve that there is a redeeming spirit in our institutions, which 
may, on great occasions, be brought to our aid for the purpose 
of preserving the public liberty, restoring the Constitution, and 
effecting a regeneration of the Government; and thereby pro- 
ducing a redress of intolerable grievances, without war, revolu- 
tion, or a dissolution of the Union. These great objects, we feel 
assured, may even now be effected, unless those who are in pos- 
sion of the powers of the government, and charged with the ad- 
ministration of our national affairs, shall resolve to persevere in 
a course of injustice, and prove by their conduct that they love 
the usurpation (to which the people of this State are unalterably 
determined not to submit) better than the Union. We believe 
that the redeeming spirit of our system is State Sovereignty 
and that it results from the very form and structure of the Fede- 
ral Government ; that when the rights reserved to the several 
States are deliberately invaded, it is their right and their duty to 
"interpose for the purpose of arresting the progress of the evil of 
usurpation, and to maintain within their respective limits the au- 
thorities and privileges belonging to them as independent sove- 
reignties."* If the several States do not possess this right, it is 
in vain that they claim to be sovereign. They are at once re- 
duced to the degrading condition of humble dependants on the 
will of the Federal Government. South Carolina claims to be a 
sovereign State. She recognizes no tribunal upon earth as above 
her authority. It is true she has entered into a solemn compact 
of Union with other sovereign States ; but she claims, and will 
exercise the right to determine the extent of herobligations under 
that compact, nor will she consent that any other power shall 
exercise the right of judgment for her. And when that compact 
is violated by her co-States, or by the Government which they 
have created, she asserts her unquestionable right, " to judge of 
the infractions, as well as of the mode and measure of redress. "f 
South Carolina claims no right to judge for others. The States 

"Virginia Resolutions of '98. fKentucky Resolutions of 1798. 



25 



who are parties to the compact, must judge each for itself, 
whether that compact has been pursued or violated ; and should 
they differ irreconcileably in opinion, there is no earthly tribunal 
that can authoritatively decide between them. It was in the 
contemplation of a similar case, that Mr. Jefferson declared that 
if the difference could neither be compromised, nor avoided, it 
was the peculiar felicity of our system, to have provided a reme- 
dy m a Convention of all the States, by whom the Constitution 
might be so altered or amended, as to remove the difficulty.— 
To this tribunal. South Carolina is willing that an appeal should 
now be made, and that the constitutional compact should be so 
modified as to accomplish all the great ends for which the 
Union was formed, and the Federal Government constituted, 
and, at the same time, restore the rights of the States, and pre- 
serve them from violation hereafter. Your Committee purposely 
avoid entering here into an examination of the nature and cha- 
racter of this claim, which South Carolina asserts, to interpose 
her sovereignty, for the protection of her citizens from the ope- 
ration of unconstitutional Laws, and the preservation of her own 
reserved rights. In an Address, which will be submitted to the 
Convention, this subject will be fully examined, and they trust 
that it will be made to appear, to the entire satisfaction of every 
dispassionate mind, that in adopting the Ordinance which the 
Committee herewith report, declaring the Tariff Laws passed 
for the protection of Domestic Manufacturers, null and void, 
and not Law, and directing the Legislature to provide, that the 
same shall not be enforced within the limits of this State- 
South Carolina will be asserting her unquestionable rights, and 
in no way violating her obligations under the Federal Compact. 
The Committee cannot dismiss this point, however, even for 
the present, without remarking, that in asserting the principles, 
and adopting the course, which they are about to recommend,' 
South Carolina will only be carrying out the doctrines which 
were asserted by Virginia and Kentucky in 1798, and which 
have been sanctified by the high authority of Thomas Jefferson. 
It is from the pen of this great apostle of liberty, that we have 
been instructed that to the Constitutional compact, " each State 
acceded as a State, and is an integral party, its co-states form- 
ing as to itself the other party," that " they alone being parties 
5 



26 

to the compact, are solely authorized to judge in the last resort 
of the powers exercised under it; Congress being not a party, 
but merely the creature of the compact," that it becomes a 
sovereign State, " to submit to undelegated, and, consequently, 
unlimited power in no man or body of men on earth ; that in 
cases of abuse of the delegated powers, the members of the Gene- 
ral Government being chosen by the people, a change by the 
people would be the Constitutional remedy ; but where powers 
are assumed which have not been delegated, [the very case now 
before us] a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy ; 
that every State has a natural right, in cases not within the 
compact, [casus non fcederis] to nullify, of their own authority, 
all assumption of power by others within their limits, and that 
without this right they would be under the dominion absolute 
and unlimited, of whomsoever might exercise the right of judg- 
ment for them ;" and that in case of acts being passed by Con- 
gress, " so palpably against the Constitution as to amount to an 
undisguised declaration, that the compact is not meant to be 
the measure of the powers of the General Government, but that 
it will proceed to exercise over the States all powers whatso- 
ever, by seizing the rights of the States, and consolidating them 
in the hands of the General Government, with a power assumed 
of binding the States, not merely in cases made federal, but in 
all cases whatsoever, by laws made, not with their consent, but 
by others against their consent, it would be the duty of the 
States to declare the Acts void and of no force, and that each 
should take measures of its own for providing that neither such 
acts, nor any other of the General Government, not plainly and 
intentionally authorized by the Constitution, shall be exercised 
within their respective territories." 

In acting on these great and essential truths. South Carolina 
surely cannot err. She is convinced, and has so declared to 
Congress and the World, that the protecting system is in all its 
branches a "gross, deliberate, and palpable violation of the 
Constitution." She believes that after having exhausted every 
other means of redress in vain, it is her right, and that it has 
now become her solemn duty, to interpose for arresting the evil 
within her own limits, by declaring said Acts " to be null and 
void, and no law, and taking measures of her own that they shall 



27 

not be enforced within her territory." That duty she means to 
perform, and to leave the consequences in the hands of Him, 
with whom are the issues of life and the destinies of nations. 

South Carolina will continue to cherish a sincere attachment 
to the UNION of the States, and will to the utmost of her power 
endeavor to preserve it, " and believes that for this end, it is her 
duty to watch over and oppose any infraction of those principles 
which constitute the only basis of that union, because a faithful 
observance of them can alone secure its existence." She vene- 
rates the Constitution, and will protect and defend it " against 
every aggression, either foreign or domestic ;" but, above all, 
she estimates as beyond all price her liberty, which she is un- 
alterably determined never to surrender while she has the power 
to maintain it. Influenced by these views, your Committee re- 
port herewith, for the adoption of the Convention, a solemn 
Declaration and Ordinance. 



AN ORDINANCE, 

To JVulUfy certain Acts of the Congress of the United States, put' 
porting to he Laws laying Duties and Imposts on the Importation 
of Foreign Commodities. 

Whereas, the Congress of the United States, by various acts, 
purporting to be acts laying duties and imposts on foreign im- 
ports, but in reality intended for the protection of domestic 
manufactures, and the giving of bounties to classes and indi- 
viduals engaged in particular employments, at the expense and 
to the injury and oppression of other classes and individuals, and 
by wholly exempting from taxation, certain foreign commodities, 
such as are not produced or manufactured in the United States, 
to afford a pretext for imposing higher and excessive duties on 
articles similar to those intended to be protected, hath exceeded 
its just powers under the Constitution, which confers on it no 
authority to afford such protection, and hath violated the true 
meaning and intent of the Constitution, which provides for 
equality in imposing the burdens of taxation upon the several 
States and portions of the Confederacy ; — And, whereas, the 
said Congress, exceeding its just power to impose taxes and col- 
lect revenue for the purpose of effecting and accomplishing the 
specific objects and purposes which the Constitution of the 
United States authorizes it to effect and accomplish, hath raised 
and collected unnecessary revenue, for objects unauthorized by 
the Constitution ; 

We, therefore, the people of the State of South Carolina, in 
Convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby 
declared and ordained, that the several acts and parts of acts of 
the Congress of the United States, purporting to be laws for the 
imposing of duties and imposts on the importation of foreign 
commodities, and now having actual operation and effect within 
the United States, and more especially an act entitled " an act 
in alteration of the several acts imposing duties on imports," ap- 
proved on the nineteenth day of May, one thousand eight hun- 



29 

dred and twenty-eight, and also an act entitled " an act to alter 
and amend the several acts imposing duties on imports," approved 
on the fourteenth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and 
thirty-two, are unauthorized by the Constitution of the United 
States, and violate the true meaning and intent thereof, and are 
null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers or 
citizens ; and all promises, contracts, and obligations made or 
entered into, or to be made or entered into with purpose to 
secure the duties imposed by the said acts, and all judicial pro- 
ceedings which shall be hereafter had in affirmance thereof, are 
and shall be held utterly null and void. 

And it is further ordained, That it shall not be lawful for any 
of the constituted authorities, whether of this State, or of the 
United States, to enforce the payment of duties imposed by the 
said acts within the limits of this State ; but it shall be the duty 
of the Legislature to adopt such measures, and pass such acts as 
may be necessary to give full etfect to this ordinance, and to pre- 
vent the enforcement and arrest the operation of the said acts and 
parts of acts of the Congress of the United States, within the limits 
of this State, from and after the first day of February next, and 
the duty of all other constituted authorities, and all persons resi- 
ding or being within the limits of this State, and they are hereby 
required and enjoined to obey and give effect to this Ordinance, 
and such acts and measures of the Legislature as may be passed 
or adopted in obedience thereto. 

And it is further ordained, That in no case of law or equity, 
decided in the Courts of this State, wherein shall be drawn in 
question the authority of this Ordinance, or the validity of such 
act or acts of the Legislature as may be passed for the purpose 
of giving efiect thereto, or the validity of the aforesaid acts of 
Congress, imposing duties, shall any appeal be taken or allowed 
to the Supreme Court of the United States, nor shall any copy 
of the record be permitted or allowed for that purpose ; and if 
any such appeal shall be attempted to be taken, the Courts of 
this State, shall proceed to execute and enforce their judgments, 
according to the laws and usages of the State, without reference 
to such attempted appeal, and the person or persons attempting 
to take such appeal may be dealt with as for a contempt of the 
Court. 



30 

And it is further ordained, Tliat all persons now holding any 
office of honor, profit or trust, civil or military, under this State, 
(members of the Legislature excepted) shall, within such time, 
and in such manner as the Legislature shall prescribe, take an 
oath, well and truly to obey, execute and enforce this Ordinance, 
and such act or acts of the Legislature as may be passed in pur- 
suance thereof, according to the true intent and meaning of the 
same ; and, on the neglect or omission of any such person or 
persons so to do, his or their office or offices shall be forthwith 
vacated, and shall be filled up, as if such person or persons were 
dead, or had resigned ; and no person hereafter elected to any 
office of honor, profit or trust, civil or military, (members of the 
Legislature excepted) shall, until the Legislature shall otherwise 
provide and direct, enter on the execution of his office, or be in any 
respect competent to discharge the duties thereof, until he shall, 
in like manner, have taken a similar oath ; and no juror shall be 
impannelled in any of the Courts of this State, in any cause in 
which shall be in question this Ordinance, or any act of the Le- 
gislature passed in pursuance thereof, unless he shall first, in 
addition to the usual oath, have taken an oath that he will well 
and truly obey, execute, and enforce this Ordinance, and such 
act or acts of the Legislature, as may be passed to carry the 
same into operation and eftect, according to the true intent and 
meaning thereof. 

And we, the people of South Carolina, to the end that it may 
be fully understood by the Government of the United States, and 
the people of the co-States, that we are determined to maintain 
this, our Ordinance and declaration, at every hazard, do further 
declare that we will not submit to the application of force, on 
the part of the Federal Government, to reduce this State to 
obedience ; but that we will consider the passage by Congress, 
of any act authorizing the employment of a military or naval 
force against the State of South Carolina, her constituted autho- 
rities or citizens, — or any act, abolishing or closing the ports of 
this State, or any of them, or otherwise obstructing the free in- 
gress and egress of vessels to and from the said ports, — or any 
other act on the part of the Federal Government, to coerce the 
State, shut up her ports, destroy or harrass her commerce, or to 
enforce the acts hereby declared to be null and void, otherwise 



31 



than through the civil tribunals of the country, as inconsistent 
with the longer continuance of South Carolina in the Union ; 
and that the people of this State will thenceforth hold themselves 
absolved from all further obligation to maintain or preserve their 
political connexion with the people of the other States, and will 
forthwith proceed to organize a separate Government, and do all 
other acts and things which sovereign and independent States 
may of right do. 

Done in Convention, at Columbia, the twenty-fourth day of 
November, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred 
and thirty-two, and in the fifty-seventh year of the Declaration 
of the Independence of the United States of America. 

JAMES HAMILTON, Jun., President of the Convention, 

and Delegate from St. Peters. 



James Hamilton, sen. 

Richard Bohun Baker, sen. 

Samuel Warren. 

Nathaniel Heyward. 

Robert Long. 

J. B. Earle. 

L. M. Ayer. 

Benjamin Adams. 

James Adams. 

James Anderson. 

Robert Anderson. 

William Arnold. 

John Ball. 

Barnard E. Bee. 

Thomas W. Boone. 

James Lynah. 

Francis Y. Legare. 

Alex. J. Lawton. 

John Lipscomb. 

John Logan. 

J. Littlejohn. 

A. Lancastar. 

John Magrath. 



Wm. M. Murray. 
R. G. Mills. 
John B. McCall. 
D. H. Means. 
R. G. Mays. 
R. W. Barnwell. 
Isaac Brad we 11 jr. 
Thomas G. Blewett. 
P. M. Butler. 
John G. Brown. 
J. G. Brown. 
John Bauskett. 
A. Burt. 
Francis Burt, jr. 
Bailey Barton. 
A. Bowie. 
James A. Black. 
A. H. Belin. 
Philip Cohen. 
Samuel Cordes. 
Thomas H. Colcock. 
C. J. Colcock. 
Charles G. Capers. 



32 



Benj. A. Markley. 
John S. Maner. 
John Counts. 
Benjamin Chambers. 
I. A. Campbell. 
Wm. Dubose. 
John H. Dawson. 
John Douglas. 
George Douglas. 
F. H. Elmore. 
Wm. Evans. 
Edmund J. Felder. 
A. Fuller. 
Theo. L. Gourdin. 
Peter G. Gourdin. 
T. J. Goodwyn. 
Peter Gaillard, jr. 
John K. Griffin. 
George W. Gleen. 
Alex. L. Gregg. 
Robert Y. Hayne. 
William Harper. 
Thomas Harrison. 
John Hatton. 
Thomas Harllee. 
Abm. Huguenin. 
Jacob Bond I'On. 
John S. Jeter. 
Job Johnston. 
John S. James. 
M. Jacobs. 
J. A. Keith. 
John Key. 
Jacob H. King. 
Stephen Lacostc. 
George McDuffic. 
James Moore. 
John E. Miller. 
Stephen D. Miller. 



Wm. C. Clifton. 
West Caughman. 
Wm. Porcher. 
Edward G. Palmer. 
Chs. C. Pinckney. 
Wm. C. Pinckney. 
Thomas Pinckney. 
Francis D. Quash. 
John Rivers. 
Donald Rowe. 
Benjamin Rogers. 
Thomas Ray. 
James G. Spann. 
James Spann. 
S. L. Simons. 
Peter J. Shand. 
James Mongin Smith. 
G. H. Smith. 
Wm. Smith. 
Stepen Smith. 
Wm. Stringfellow. 
Edwin J. Scott. 
F. W. Symmes. 
J. S, Sims. 
T. D. Singleton. 
Joseph L. Stevens. 
T. E. Screven. 
Robt. J. Turnbull. 
Elisha Tyler. 
Philip Tidyman. 
Isaac B. Ulmer. 
Peter Vaught. 
Elias Vanderhorst. 
John L. Wilson. 
Isham Walker. 
Wm. Williams. 
Thos. B. Woodward. 
Sterlin C. Williamson. 
F. H. Wardlaw. 



33 



John B. Miller. Abner Whatley. 

R. P. McCord. J. T. Whitefield. 

John L. Nowell. Saml. L. Watt. 

Jennings O'Bannon. Nicholas Ware. 

J. Walter Phillips. Wm. Waties. 

Charles Parker. Archibald Young. 
[Attest.] 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



ADDRESS 



PEOPLE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 



DELEGATES IN CONVENTION. 



ADDRESS. 



Fellow Citizens : 

The situation in which you have been placed by the usurpa- 
tions of the Federal Government, is one which you so peculiarly 
feel, as to render all reference to it at this moment unnecessary. 
For the last ten years the subject of your grievances has been 
presented to you. This subject you have well considered You 
have viewed it in all its aspects, bearings, and tendencies, and 
you seem more and more confirmed in the opinion, expressed by 
both branches of the Legislature, that the Tariff, in its operation, 
is not only "grossly unequal and unjust, but is such an abuse of 
power as is incompatible with the principles of a Free Govern- 
ment, and the great ends of civil society;" and that, if persisted 
in, "the fate of this State would be poverty and utter desolation." 
Correspondent with this conviction, a disposition is manifested 
in every section of the Country, to arrest, by some means or 
other, the progress of this intolerable evil. This disposition 
having arisen, from no sudden excitement, but having been grad- 
ually formed by the free and temperate discussions of the Press, 
there is no reason to believe that it can ever subside, by any 
means short of the removal of the urgent abuse ; and it is under 
this general conviction, that we have been convened to take into 
consideration, not only the character and extent of your griev- 
ances, but also the mode and measure of redress. 

This duty. Fellow Citizens, we have discharged to the best of 
our judgments, and the result of our deliberations will be found 
in the Declaration and Ordinance, just passed by us — founded 
on the great and undeniable truth, that in all cases of a palpa- 



38 

ble, oppressive, and dangerous infraction of the Federal compact, 
each State has a right to annul, and to render inoperative within 
its limits, all such unauthorized acts. After the luminous expo- 
sitions which have been already furnished by so many great 
minds, that the exercise of this right is compatible with the first 
principles of our anomalous scheme of Government, it would be 
superfluous here to state at length, the reasons by which this 
mode of redress is to be sustained. A deference however, for the 
opinions of those of our fellow citizens who have hitherto dis- 
sented from us, demands, that we should briefly state the princi- 
pal wround upon which we place the right, and the expediency 
of Nullification. 

The Constitution of the United States, as is admitted by co- 
temporaneous writers, is a compact between Sovereign States. 
Though the subject matter of that compact, was a Government, 
the powers of which Government were to operate, to a certain 
extent, upon the People of those Sovereign States, aggregately, 
and not upon the State Authorities, as is usual in Confederacies, 
still the Constitution is a Confederacy. First : It is a Confede- 
racy, because in its foundations, it possesses not one single 
feature of nationality. The people of the separate States, as 
distinct political communities, ratified the Constitution, each 
State acting for itself, and binding its own citizens, and not those 
of any other State. The act of ratification declares it "to be 
binding on the States, so ratifying. The States are its authors 
— their power created it — their voice clothed it with authority — 
the Government it formed is in reality their Government, and the 
Union of which it is the bond, is a Union of States, and not of 
individuals." Secondly : It is a Confederacy, because the ex- 
tent of the powers of the Government, depends, not upon the 
People of the United States, collectively, but upon the State 
Legislatures, or on the people of the separate States, acting in 
their State Conventions, each State being represented by a sin- 
gle vote. 

It must never be forgotten, that it is to the creating and to the 
controlling power, that we are to look for the true character of 
the Federal Government ; for the present controversy is, not as 
to the sources from which the ordinary powers of the Govern- 
ment are drawn ; these arc partly federal, and partly national. 



39 

Nor is it relevant, to consider upon whom those powers operate. 
In this last view, the Government, for limited purposes, is entire- 
ly national. The true question is, who are the parties to the 
compact ? Who created, and who can alter and destroy it. Is 
it the States, or the People ? This question has been already 
answered. The States, as States, ratified the compact. The 
People of the United States, collectively, had no agency in 
its formation. There did not exist then, nor has there existed 
at any time since, such a political body as the People of the 
United States. There is not now, nor has there ever been such a 
relation existing, as that of a citizen of New Hampshire, and a 
citizen of South Carolina, bound together in the same Social 
Compact. It would be a waste of time to dwell longer on this 
part of our subject. We repeat, that as regards the foundation, 
and the extent of its powers, the Government of the United 
States is strictly, what its name implies, a Federal Government, 
— a league between several Sovereigns ; and in these views, a 
more perfect Confederacy has never existed in ancient or modern 
times. 

On looking into this Constitution, we find that the most im- 
portant sovereign powers are delegated to the central Govern- 
ment, and all other powers are reserved to the States. A foreign, 
or an inattentive reader, unacquainted with the origin, progress 
and history of the Constitution, would be very apt, from the 
phraseology of the instrument, to regard the States, as having 
divested themselves of their Sovereignty, and to have become 
great corporations, subordinate to one Supreme Government. — ' 
But this is an error. The States are as Sovereign now, as they 
were prior to their entering into the compact. In common par- 
lance, and to avoid circumlocution, it may be admissible enough, 
to speak of delegated and reserved Sovereignty. But, correclly 
speaking. Sovereignty is an unit. It is "one, indivisible and un- 
alienable." It is, therefore, an absurdity to imagine, that the 
Sovereignty of the States, is surrendered in part, and retained in 
part. The Federal Constitution, is a treaty, a confederation, an 
alliance by which so many Sovereign States, agree to exercise 
their sovereign powers conjointly, upon certain objects of exter- 
nal concern, in which they are equally interested, such as War, 
Peace, Commerce, Foreign Negotiation, and Indian Trade ; and 



40 



upon all other subjects of civil Government, they were to exer- 
cise their Sovereignty separately. This is the true nature of the 
compact. 

For the convenient conjoint exercise of the Sovereignty of the 
States, there must of necessity be some common agency or func- 
tionary. This agency is the Federal Government. It represents 
the confederated States, and executes their joint vi^ill, as express- 
ed in the compact. The powers of Jhis government are wholly 
derivative. It possesses no more inherent sovereignty, than an 
incorporated town, or any other corporate body; — it is a political 
corporation, and like all corporations, it looks for its powers to 
an exterior source. That source is the States. It wants that 
"irresistible, absolute, uncontrolled authority," without which, 
according to jurists, there can be no sovereignty. As the States 
conferred, so the States can take away its powers. All inherent 
sovereignty, is therefore in the States. It is the moral obliga- 
tion alone, which each State has chosen to impose upon herself, 
and not the want of sovereignty, which restrains her from exer- 
cising all those powers, which (as we are accustomed to express 
ourselves) she has surrendered to the Federal Government. — 
The present organization of our Government, as far as regards 
the terms in which the powers of Congress are delegated, in no 
wise differs from the old Confederation. The powers of the Old 
Congress were delegated rather in stronger language, than we 
find them written down in the new charter, and yet he would 
hazard a bold assertion, who would say, that the States of the old 
Confederacy were not as Sovereign as Great Britain, France and 
Russia would be in an alliance offensive and defensive. It was 
not the reservation, in express terms, of the "Sovereignty, Free- 
dom, and Independence of each State" which made them Sove- 
reign. They would have been equally Sovereign, as is univer- 
sally admitted, without such a reservation. 

We have said thus much upon the subject of Sovereignty, be- 
cause the only foundation upon which we can safely erect the 
right of a State to protect its citizens, is, that South Carolina, by 
the Declaration of Independence, became, and has since con- 
tinued a Free, Sovereign, and Independent State. That as a 
Sovereign State, she has the inherent power, to do all those acts, 
which by the law of nations, any Prince or Potentate may of 



41 

right do. That, like all independent States, she neither has, nor 
ought she to suffer any other restraint upon her sovereign will 
and pleasure, than those high, moral obligations, under which 
all Princes and States are bound, before God and man, to 
perform their solemn pledges. The inevitable conclusion from 
what has been said, therefore is, that as in all cases of compact 
between Independent Sovereigns, where, from the very nature 
of things, there can be no common judge or umpire, each sove- 
reign has a right "to judge as well of infractions, as of the mode 
and measure of redress," so in the present controversy between 
South Carolina and the Federal Government, it belongs solely 
to her, by her delegates in solemn Convention assembled, to de- 
cide whether the federal compact be violated, and what remedy 
the State ought to pursue. South Carolina therefore cannot, 
and will not yield to any department of the Federal Government, 
and still less to the Supreme Court of the United States, the 
creature of a Government, which itself is a creature of the 
States, a right which enters into the essence of all sovereignty, 
and without which it would become a bauble and a name. 

It is fortunate for the view which we have just taken, that the 
history of the Constitution, as traced through the Journals of the 
Convention which framed that instrument, places the right con- 
tended for upon the same sure foundation. These journals fur- 
nish abundant proof, that " no line of jurisdiction between the 
States and Federal Government, in doubtful cases," could be 
agreed on. It was conceded by Mr. Madison and Mr. Ran- 
dolph, the most prominent advocates for a Supreme Government' 
that it was impossible to draw this line, because no tribunal suf- 
ficiently impartial, as they conceived, could be found, and that 
there was no alternative, but to make the Federal Government 
supreme, by giving it, in all such cases, a negative on the acts 
of the State Legislatures. The pertinacity with which this neg- 
ative power was insisted on by the advocates of a national Gov- 
ernment, even after all the important provisions of the judiciary 
or third article of the Constitution were arranged and agreed to, 
proves beyond doubt, that the Supreme Court was never con- 
templated by either party, in that Convention, as an arbiter, to 
decide conflicting claims of sovereignty between the States and 
Congress ; and the repeated rejection of all proposals to take 
7 



42 

from the States the power of placing their own construction 
upon the articles of Union, evinces that the States were resolved 
never to part with the right to judge, whether the acts of the 
Federal Legislature were, or were not, an infringement of those 
articles. 

Correspondent with the right of a Sovereign State to judge of 
the infractions of the Federal Compact, is the duty of this Con- 
vention to declare the extent of the grievance, and the mode and 
measure of redress. On both these points, public opinion has 
already anticipated us, in much that we could urge. It is doubt- 
ed, whether in any country, any subject has undergone, before 
the people, a more thorough examination than the constitution- 
ality of the several acts of Congress for the protection of Do- 
mestic JManufactures. Independent of the present embarrass- 
ments, they throw in the way of our commerce, and the plain in- 
dications, that certain articles, which are the natural exchange 
for our valuable staple products, are sooner or later to be virtu- 
ally prohibited — independent of the diminution which these im- 
post duties cause in our incomes, and the severity of the Tax 
upon all articles of consumption needed by the poor, they recog- 
nize a principle, not less at war with the ends for which this 
great confederacy was formed, than it is with that spirit of jus- 
tice, and those feelings of concord which ought to prevail 
amongst States, united by so many common interests and exalted 
triumphs. The people surely need not be told, in this advanced 
period of intellect and of freedom, that no government can be 
free, which can rightfully impose a tax, for the encouragement 
of one branch of industry at the expense of all others, unless 
such a tax be justified by some great and unavoidable public 
necessity. Still less can the people believe, that in a confedera- 
cy of States, designed principally, as an alliance oflcnsive and 
defensive, its authors could ever have contemplated, that the 
federal head should regulate the domestic industry of a widely 
extended country ; distinguished, above all others, for the diver- 
sity of interests, pursuits and resources, in its various sections. 
It was this acknowledged diversity, that caused tlie arrangement 
of a conjoint and separate exercise of tiie sovereign authority } 
the one to regulate external concerns, and the other to have ab- 
solute control "over the lives, liberties, and properties of the 



43 

people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of 
the States." 

It is the striking characteristic in the operation of a simple 
and consolidated government, that it protects Manufactures, 
Agriculture, or any other branch of the public industry — that it 
can establish corporations or make Roads and Canals, and patron- 
ize learning and the arts. But it would be difficult to shew, that 
such was the government which the sages of the Convention de- 
signed for the States. All these powers were proposed to be 
given to Congress, and they were proposed by that party in the 
Convention who desired a firm National Government. The Con- 
vention having decided on the federal form, in exclusion of the 
national, all these propositions were rejected ; and yet we have 
lived to see an American Congress, who can hold no power ex- 
cept by express grant, as fully in the exercise of these powers, 
as if they were part and parcel of their expressly delegated au- 
thority. Under a pretence of regulating Commerce; they would 
virtually prohibit it. Were this regulation of Commerce resort- 
ed to, as a means of coercing foreign nations to a fair reciprocity 
in their intercourse with us, or for some other bona fide commer- 
cial purpose, as has been justly said by our Legislature, the 
Tarift'acts would be constitutional. But none of these acts have 
been passed as countervailing or retaliatory measures, for re- 
strictions placed on our Commerce by foreign nations. Whilst 
other nations seem disposed to relax in their restraints upon 
trade, our Congress seems absolutely bent upon the interdiction 
of those articles of Merchandize, which are exchangeable for the 
products of Southern labor, thus causing the principal burthen 
of taxation to fall upon this portion of the Union, and by de- 
priving us of our accustomed Markets, to impoverish our whole 
Southern country. In the same manner, and under the pretence 
of promoting the Internal Improvement of the States, and for 
other equally unjustifiable and unconstitutional purposes, Con- 
gress is in the constant habit of violating those fundamental 
principles of the Constitution, on which alone can rest the pros- 
perity of the States, and the durability of the Union. 

It is in vain to imagine, that with a people who have strug- 
gled for freedom, and know its inestimable value, such a state 
of aftairs can be endured longer than there is a well founded 



44 

hope, that reason and justice will resume their empire in the 
common council of the confederacy. That hope having expired 
with the last sesblun of Congress, by the present Tariff act, dis- 
tinctly and fully recognizing as the permanent policy of the 
country, the odious principle of protection, it occurs to us, that 
there is but one course for the State to pursue. That course 
fellow-citizens is resistance. Not physical, but moral resist- 
ance — not resistance in an angry or irritated feeling, but resist- 
ance by such counter-legislation, which, whilst it shall evince to 
the world that our measures are built upon the necessity of ten- 
dering to Congress an amicable issue, to try a doubtful question 
between friends and neighbors, shall at the same time secure us 
in the enjoyment of our rights and privileges. It matters not, 
fellow citizens, by what name this counter-legislation shall be 
designated ; call it Nullification, State interposition. State veto, 
or by whatever other name you please, still if it be but resistance 
to an oppressive measure, it is the course which duty, patriot- 
ism, and self-preservation prescribes. If we are asked, upon 
what ground we place the right to resist a particular law of 
Congress, and yet regard ourselves as a constituent member of 
the Union, we answer — the ground of the Compact. We do not 
choose, in a case of this kind, to recur to what are called our 
natural rights, or the right of revolution. We claim to nullify 
by a more imposing title. We claim it as a constitutional right, 
not meaning as some have imagined, that we derive the right 
from the Constitution, for derivative rights can only belong to 
the functionaries of the high contracting parties to the Consti- 
tution, but we claim to exercise it as one of the parties to the 
compact, and as consistent with its letter, its genius, and its 
spirit, it being distinctly understood at the time of ratifying the 
Constitution, that the exercise of all sovereign rights not agreed 
to be had conjointly, were to be exerted separately by the 
States. Though it be true, that the provision in favor of what 
we call the reserved rights of the States, was not necessary to 
to secure to the States such reserved rights, yet the mere cir- 
cumstance, of its insertion in the instrument, makes it as clear a 
constitutional provision, as that of the power of Congress to 
raise armies, or to declare war. Any exercise of a right in con- 
formity with a constitutional provision, we conceive to be a 



45 

constitutional right, whether it be founded on an express grant 
of the right, or be included in a general reservation of undefined 
powers. The Constitution being the supreme law, and an instru- 
ment in which a distribution of powers is made between the 
Federal Government and the States, it is incumbent on the au- 
thorities of each Government, so to shape their legislation, as not 
to overstep the boundaries assigned to them. No act can there- 
fore be done by either Government, which for its validity can be 
referred to any other test, than the standard of the Constitution. 
If a State Government passes an act, defining and punishing a 
burglary, or a law abolishing the rights of primogeniture, it is 
more correct to say, that she is in the exercise of her constitu- 
tional, than of her natural rights, because it is an express con- 
stitutional provision, that she should exercise all her sovereign 
rights, not already entrusted to the common functionary of the 
parties. As it is impossible then that any act can be passed by 
either Government, which, if disputed, must not be referred to 
the Constitution as the supreme law of the parties, so a right is 
constitutional or unconstitutional, as it shall be found to com- 
port with, or to be repugnant to, the terms or the spirit of that 
instrument. There is not, therefore, a sovereign, or a natural 
right, which South Carolina can lawfully exercise in conformity 
with her engagements, which is not stipulated for in the tenth 
amendment to the Constitution. All such rights stipulated for, 
must be constitutional ; to regard them otherwise, would be a 
perversion of terms. 

That Nullification under our reserved rights was regarded as 
constitutional by the Virginia Resolutions of 1798, is clear from 
the exposition of them by the celebrated R-eport, drawn by Mr. 
Madison. In defending the third of these Resolutions, which as- 
serts the doctrine of State interposition and protection, the Com- 
mittee say "that they have scanned it not merely with a strict, but 
with a severe eye, and they feel confidence in pronouncing, that 
in its just and fair construction, it is unexceptionably true in 
its several positions, as well as constitutional and conclusive 
in its inferences." What were the positions of the third Reso- 
lution. 1. That the powers of the Federal Government were 
limited to the plain sense of the instrument constituting the 
compact. 2. That in case of a deliberate, palpable and dan- 



46 

gerous infraction of the compact, the State has the right to in- 
terpose, &-C. Now what is the inference ? It is, that " they 
are in duty bound to arrest the progress of the evil, by maintain- 
ing within their respective limits, the authorities, rights, and 
liberties appertaining to them." This inference, says the Re- 
port, is " constitutional and conclusive." The same doctrine 
was as distinctly affirmed by the Virginia Assembly, in their Re- 
solutions adopting the Report. They say, " that having fully 
and accurately re-examined and reconsidered these Resolutions, 
they find it to be their indispensable duty to adhere to the same 
as founded in truth, as consonant with the Constitution, and as 
conducive to its preservation." 

We are aware that it has been recently maintained, that by 
the State interposition referred to in this third Resolution, the 
Virginia Assembly had allusion to the natural right, and Mr. 
Madison himself has been brought forward to give a construc- 
tion to this Resolution contrary to the most obvious import of 
the terms. Be it so. Then, if the State interposition here 
spoken of, be a natural right, it is a right which the Virginia 
Assembly have pronounced " consonant with the Constitution, 
and as conducive to its preservation," — or, in other words, that 
without the exercise of this natural sovereign right of interposi- 
tion, the Constitution cannot be preserved. There is no incon- 
gruity in this. It is quite competent for two monarchs to stipu- 
late in a treaty for that right, which, independent of the treaty, 
would be a natural right, as if a power were conferred by the 
treaty on the citizens of either prince, to capture, adjudge, and 
execute all subjects of the other, engaged in piracy on the high 
seas. It certainly would be more proper to call such a right a 
Conventional right, than a natural right, though it be both. 
Several of the State Constitutions furnish instances of natural 
rights being secured by a constitutional provision. Even in the 
instrument we are now considering, there is a distinct affirma- 
tion in terms of a natural right of sovereignty — such as the sove- 
reign right of a State to keep troops and ships of war in a certain 
emergency, or the sovereign right of a State to lay import and 
export duties, for the purpose of executing its inspection laws. 
In these cases, a natural right is also a constitutional right, con- 
trary to the definition of those who maintain that no right is 



47 

properly constitutional which is a sovereign right, because con- 
stitutional rights are derivative rights exercised by functionaries. 
That reasoning would be indeed strange, which would place a 
natural reserved sovereign right, expressed in terms upon a 
better footing, than all that mass of residuary power included in 
the general reservation of the tenth amendment. It would be to 
create a distinction without a difference. The reserved rights, 
though undefined, are easily ascertained. Any particular right 
not found in the enumerated powers of Congress, of course be- 
longs to the States. 

The right to nullify is universally admitted to be a natural or 
sovereign right. The natural rights of the States are also ad- 
mitted to be their reserved rights. If they are reserved, they 
must be constitutional, because the Constitution being an agree- 
ment to arrange the mode by which the States shall exercise 
their sovereignty, expressly stipulates for the exercise of these 
powers in all cases not enumerated. To some it may be unim- 
portant upon what basis we place the right of a State to protect 
its citizens, as counter-legislation would be the beginning of re- 
sistance in either case; others may, perhaps, justly say, that the 
whole controversy is resolvable into a dispute as to what is, or is 
not, the proper definition of a constitutional right. We, how- 
ever, think it of infinite importance, in urging the right of nulli- 
fication, to regard it as a constitutional, rather than as a natural 
remedy, because a constitutional proceeding is calculated to 
give it a pacific course and a higher recommendation. The 
characteristic, in fact, of the American Constitutions in general, 
is, that they sanctify the fundamental principles of the American 
Revolution. Whilst other nations have to resort to the law of na- 
ture, and by force to drive despots from their thrones, thus in- 
curring what amongst them is odiously termed the guilt of re- 
bellion ; we here have the incalculable advantage of a thorough 
understanding amongst all classes, that it is the right, as well as 
the duty, of a free people, to recur when necessary to their 
sovereign rights, to resist oppression. Such a sentiment as this 
becoming familiar to the public mind, acquires prodigious 
strength, when its spirit is seen to pervade a written Constitu- 
tion, and prevents rather than accelerates opportunities for an 
unnecessary recurrence to revolutionary movements. Under 



48 

such a structure of the public sentiment, when the voice of a 
sovereign State shall be spoken, "it will be heard in a tone 
which virtuous governors will obey, and tyrannical ones shall 
dread." Nothing can more reconcile nullification to our citi- 
zens, than to know, that if we are not proceeding according to 
the forms of the Constitution, we are, nevertheless, adhering to 
its spirit. The convention which framed the Constitution, could 
not agree upon any mode of settling a dispute, like the present. 
The case was therefore left unprovided for, under the conviction 
no doubt, as is admitted by Mr. Hamilton in "The Federalist," 
that if the Federal Government should oppress the States, the 
State governments would be ready to check it, by virtue of their 
own inherent sovereign powers. "It may safely be received as 
an axiom in our political system, (says Mr. Hamilton,) that the 
State Governments will,, in all possible contingencies, afford 
complete security against invasion of the public liberty by the 
national authority. Projects of usurpation cannot be masked 
under pretences so likely to escape the penetration of select 
bodies of men, as of the people at large, — the Legislatures will 
have better means of information, — they can discover the danger 
at a distance ; and, possessing all the organs of civil power, and 
the confidence of the people, they can at once adopt a regular 
plan of opposition, in which they can combine all the resources 
of the community." 

That measure cannot be revolutionary, which is adopted, not 
with a view to resort to force, but by some decisive measures, to 
call the attention of the co-States to a disputed question, in such 
a form, as to compel them to decide what are or are not the 
rights of the States, in a case of a palpable and dangerous infrac- 
tion of those fundamental principles of liberty in whicii they all 
have an interest. 

In the exercise of the right of nullification, we are not un- 
mindful of the many objections which have been urged" against 
it. That it may embarrass the present majority in Congress, who 
are fatally bent upon building up the sectional interests of their 
constituents, upon the ruin of our commerce, wc can readily im- 
agine : but these embarrassments, on examination, will be found 
to proceed rather from an unwillingness, on their part, to adjust 
the controversy on principles of reason and justice, than from 



49 

any real difficulty existing in the Constitution. The provisions 
of the Constitution are ample for taking the sense of the States 
on a question more important than any which has occurred since 
the formation of the Government. But if the spirit of justice 
departs from the councils, to which we have a right to look up 
as the guardians of the public liberty and the public peace, no 
provisions of human wisdom can avail. We have heard much 
of the danger of suffering one State to impede the operations of 
twenty-three States : but it must be obvious to every considerate 
man, that the danger can only exist where a State is wrong. If 
the people of any one State are right in the principles for which 
they contend, it is desirable that they should impede the opera- 
tions of Congress, until the sentiments of its co-States shall be 
had. . A higher eulogy could not be bestowed upon our system, 
than the power of resorting to some conservative principle, that 
shall stay a disruption of the league. It is no argument to say 
that a State may have no grounds on which to place herself upon 
her sovereign rights. This is a possible, but by no means a pro- 
bable case. Experience has given us a most instructive lesson 
on this very subject — it has taught us that, the danger is not that 
a State may resort to her sovereign rights too often, but that it 
will not avail herself of them when necessary. Look, fellow cit- 
izens, to our State : for ten years we have petitioned and remon- 
strated against the unconstitutionality of the Tariff Acts, and 
though the conviction has been universal, that the effects of the 
system would be ruinous to our interests, yet the difficulty has 
been great, to bring the people to the resisting point. 

And so with other objections. It has been maintained by us, 
that, according to the philosophy of the government, and the 
true spirit of the compact, it becomes Congress in all emergen- 
cies like the present, to solicit from the States, the call of a 
Convention. That, upon such a convocation, it should be in- 
cumbent on the States claiming the doubtful power, to propose 
an amendment to the Constitution, giving the doubtful power ; 
and on failue to obtain it by a consent of three fourths of all the 
States, to regard the power as never having been intended to be 
given. We must not be understood to say, that this was matter 
even of implied stipulation, at the formation of the compact. — 
The Constitution is designedly silent on the subject, on account 
8 



50 

of the extreme difficulty in the minds of its framers of appoint- 
ing a mode of adjusting these differences. This difficulty we 
now discover was imaginary. It had its source in apprehen- 
sions, which an experience of upwards of forty years has proved 
to be without the shadow of a foundation. Many of the sages 
of that day, were dissatisfied with their work, for a reason which 
is the very opposite of the truth. They feared, not that the 
General Government would encroach upon the rights of the 
States, but that the States would perpetually be disposed to 
pass their boundaries of power, and finally destroy the confede- 
ration. Had they been blessed with the experience which we 
have acquired, there could have been no objection to trusting the 
States,' — who created the Government, and who would not wilful- 
ly embarrass it, — with a veto under certain modifications. It 
seems but reasonable, that a disputed power, which it would have 
required three fourths of the States to add to the Constitution, 
ought not to be insisted on by a majority in Congress, as impliedly 
conferred, if more than one fourth should object to it. To deny 
this, would be to decide finally the validity of a power, by a pos- 
itive majority of the people at large, instead of a concurring 
majority of the States. There is, it is true, one objection, and 
only one to this view : and that is, that under this theory, a ma- 
jority little beyond the three fourths, as for instance, seven States 
out of twenty-four, might deprive Congress of powers which 
have been expressly delegated. The answer to this, is, that it 
would be a very extreme case for a single State to claim the re- 
sumption of a power, which it had clearly delegated in positive 
terms. But it seems almost beyond the range of possibility, that 
six other States should be found to sustain a nullifying State in 
such a pretension. Should such a case ever occur, as one fourth 
and upwards of the States resolving to break their pledges, with- 
out the slightest pretence, it would shew, that it was time to dis- 
solve the league. If a spirit of friendship and fair dealing, can- 
not bind together the members of this Union, the sooner it is 
dissolved, the better. So that this objection is rather nominal, 
than substantial. But the evil of this objection is, that whilst 
its admission would relieve us from an imaginary peril, we should 
be plunged into that certain danger of an unrestricted liberty of 
Congress to give us, instead of a confederated government, a 



51 

government without any other limitation upon its power, than the 
will of a majority. 

Other objections have been urged against nullification. It is 
said that the President or Congress might employ the military 
and naval force of the United States to reduce the nullifying 
State into obedience, and thus produce a civil dissention amongst 
the members of the confederacy. We do not deem it necessary 
in a community, so conversant with this part of the subject as 
that of South Carolina, to recapitulate the arguments which 
have been urged against such an improbable course, both for 
the want of power, and on the ground of expediency. But we 
cannot pass over one view, which we think sufficient to quiet all 
apprehension on that score. We live in an age of reason and 
intellect. The idea of using force on an occasion of this kind, 
is utterly at variance with the genius and spirit of the American 
people. In truth, it is becoming repugnant even to the genius 
and spirit of the governments of the old world. We have lately 
seen in England, one of the greatest reforms achieved, which 
her history records — a reform which her wisest statesmen, twenty 
years ago, would have predicted could not be accomplished 
without civil war, brought about by a bloodless revolution. — 
The cause is manifest. Not only are the people every where 
better informed, but such is the influence which public opinion 
exerts over constituted authorities, that the rulers of this earth 
are more swayed by reason and justice than formerly. Under 
such evident indications of the march of mind and intellect, it 
vt^ould be to pay but a poor compliment to the people of these 
States, to imagine, that a measure taken by a Sovereign State, 
with the most perfect good feeling to her confederates, and to 
the perpetuity of the Union, and with no other view than to force 
upon its members, the consideration of a most important consti- 
tutional question, should terminate otherwise than peaceably. 

Fellow Citizens, it is our honest and firm belief, that nullifica- 
tion will preserve, and not destroy this Union. But we should 
regret to conceal from you that if Congress should not be ani- 
mated with a patriotic and liberal feeling in this conjuncture, 
they can give to this controversy what issue they please. Admit 
then, that there is risk of a serious conflict with the federal,gov- 
ernment. We know no better way to avoid the chance of hos- 



62 

tile measures in our opponents, than to evince a readiness to 
meet danger, come from what quarter it will. We should think 
that the American Revolution was indeed to little purpose, if a 
consideration of this kind, were to deter our people from assert- 
ing their sovereign rights. That revolution, it is well known, 
was not entered into by our Southern ancestors from any actual 
oppression, which the people suffered. It was a contest waged 
for principle, emphatically for principle. The calamities of rev- 
olution, strife, and civil war, were fairly presented to the illus- 
trious patriots of those times, which tried the souls of men. — 
The alternative was either to remain dependant colonies in hope- 
less servitude, or to become free, sovereign and independent 
States. To attain such a distinguished rank amongst the na- 
tions of the earth, there was but one path, and that the path of 
glory — the crowning glory of being accounted worthy of all suf- 
fering, and of embracing all the calamities of a protracted war 
abroad, and of domestic evils at home, rather than to surrender 
their liberties. The result of their labors is known to the world, 
through the flood of light which that revolution has shed upon 
the science of government, and the rights of man — in the "les- 
son it has taught the oppressor, and in the example it has afford- 
ed the oppressed" — in the invigoration of the spirit of freedom 
every where, and in the amelioration it is producing in the social 
order of mankind. 

Inestimable are the blessings of that well regulated freedom, 
which permits man to direct his labors and his enterprize to the 
pursuit or branch of industry to which he conceives nature has 
qualified him, unmolested by avarice enthorned in power. Such 
was the freedom for which South Carolina struggled when a de- 
.pendant colony. Such is the freedom of which she once tasted 
as the first fruit of that revolutionary triumph which she assisted 
to achieve. Such is the freedom she reserved to herself on en- 
tering into the league. Such is the freedom of which she has 
been deprived, and to which she must be restored, if her com- 
merce be worth preserving, or the spirit of her Laurens and her 
Gadsden has not fled for ever from our bosoms. It is in vain to 
tell South Carolina that she can look to any administration of 
the Federal Government for the protection of l\er sovereign 
rights, or the redress of her Southern wrongs. Where the foun- 



53 

tain is so polluted, it is not to be expected that the stream will 
again be pure. The protection to which in all representative 
governments the people have been accustomed to look, to wit, the 
responsibility of the governors to be governed, has proved nerve- 
less and illusory ; under such a system, nothing but a radical 
reform in our political institutions can preserve this union. It 
is full time that we should know what rights we have under the 
Federal Constitution, and more especially ought we to know 
whether we are to live under a consolidated government, or a 
confederacy of States — whether the States be sovereign, or their 
local Legislatures be mere corporations. A fresh understand- 
ing of the bargain, we deem absolutely necessary. No mode 
can be devised by which a dispute can be referred to the source 
of all power, but by some one State taking the lead in the great 
enterprize of reform. Till some one Southern State tenders to 
the Federal Government an issue, it will continue to have its 
"appetite increased by what it feeds on." History admonishes 
us that rulers never have the forecast to substitute in good time 
reform for revolution. They forget that it is always more de- 
sirable that the just claims of the governed should break in on 
them " through well contrived and well disposed windows, not 
through flaws and breaches, through the yawning chasms of their 
own ruin." One State must under the awful prospects before us, 
throw herself into the breach in this great struggle for constitu- 
tional freedom. There is no other mode of awakening the 
attention of the co-States to grievances which, if suffered to ac- 
cumulate, must dismember the Union. It has fallen to our lot, 
fellow citizens, first to quit our trenches. Let us go on to the 
assault with cheerful hearts and undaunted minds. 

Fellow citizens, the die is now cast. We have solemnly re- 
solved on the course which it becomes our beloved State to 
pursue ; we have resolved, that until these abuses shall be re- 
formed, no more Taxes shall be paid here. " Millions for de- 
fence, but not a cent for tribute." And now we call upon our 
citizens, native and adopted, to prepare for the crisis, and to 
meet it as becomes men and freemen. We call upon all classes 
and all parties to forget their former differences, and to unite in 
a solemn determination, never to abandon this contest until such 
a change be effected in the councils of the nation, that all the 



54 

citizens of this confederacy shall participate equally in the bene- 
fits and the burthens of the Government. To this solemn duty 
we now invoke you in the name of all that is sacred and valu- 
able to man. We invoke you in the name of that Liberty 
which has been acquired by you from an illustrious ancestry, 
and which it is your duty to transmit unimpaired to the most 
distant generations. We invoke you in the name of that Con- 
stitution which you profess to venerate, and of that Union which 
you are all desirous to perpetuate. By the reverence you bear 
to these your institutions — by all the love you bear to liberty — 
by the detestation you have for servitude — by all the abiding me- 
morials of your past glories — by the proud association of your ex- 
alted and your common triumphs in the first and greatest of revo- 
lutions — by the force of all those sublime truths which that event 
has inculcated amongst the nations — by the noble flame of repub- 
lican enthusiasm which warms your bosoms, we conjure you in 
this mighty struggle to give your hearts and souls and minds to 
your injured and oppressed State, and to support her cause pub- 
licly and privately, with your opinions, your prayers, and your ac- 
tions. If appeals such as these prove unavailing, we then com- 
mand your obedience to the laws and the authorities of the State, 
by a title which none can gainsay. We demand it by that alle- 
giance which is reciprocal with the protection you have received 
from the Stale. We admit of no obedience to any authority which 
shall conflict with that primary allegiance which every citizen 
owes to the State of his birth or his adoption. There is not, 
nor has there ever been " any direct or immediate allegiance 
between the citizens of South Carolina and the Federal Govern- 
ment ; the relation between them is through the State." South 
Carolina having entered into the constitutional compact, as a 
separate independent political community, as has already been 
stated, has the right to declare an unconstitutional act of Con- 
gress null and void — after her sovereign declaration that the act 
shall not be enforced within her limits, " such a declaration is 
obligatory on her citizens. As far as its citizens are concerned, 
the clear right of the State is to declare the extent of the obli- 
gation." This declaration once made, the citizen has no course 
but to obey. If he refuses obedience, so as to bring himself 
under the displeasure of his only and lawful sovereign, and within 



55 



the severe pains and penalties, which by her high sovereign 
power, the Legislature, will not fail to provide in her self-de- 
fence, the fault and the folly must be his own. 

And now, fellow citizens, having discharged the solemn duty 
to which we have been summoned in a crisis big with the most 
important results to the liberties, peace, safety, and happiness 
of this once harmonious, but now distracted confederacy, we 
commend our cause to that great disposer of events, who (if he 
has not already for some inscrutable purposes of his own, de- 
creed otherwise) will smile on the efforts of truth and justice. 
We know that "unless the Lord keepeth the city, the watchman 
waketh but in vain ;" but relying as we do, in this controversy, 
on the purity of our motives, and the honor of our ends, we make 
this appeal with all the confidence, which in times of trial and 
difficulty, ought to inspire the breast of the patriot and the 
Christian. Fellow citizens, do your duty to your country, and 
leave the consequences to God. 



ADDRESS 



PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CONVENTION OF THE PEOPLE 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 



ADDRESS. 



To the People of Massachusetts, Virginia, New York, Pennsyl- 
vania, North Carolina, Maryland, Connecticut, Vermont, New 
Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, Georgia, Delaware, Rhode 
Island, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mis- 
sissippi, Illinois, Alabama, and Missouri. 

We, the people of South Carolina, assembled in Convention, 
have solemnly and deliberately declared, in our paramount sove- 
reign capacity, that the act of Congress approved the 19th day 
of May, 1828, and the act approved the 14th July, 1832, alter- 
ing and amending the several acts imposing duties on imports, 
are unconstitutional, and therefore absolutely void, and of no 
binding force within the limits of this State ; and for the pur- 
pose of carrying this declaration into full and complete effect, 
we have invested the Legislature with ample powers, and made 
it the duty of all the functionaries, and all the citizens of the 
State, on their allegiance, to co-operate in enforcing the afore- 
said declaration. 

In resorting to this important measure, to which we have been 
impelled by the most sacred of all the duties which a free peo- 
ple can owe either to the memory of their ancestors, or to the 
claims of their posterity, we feel that it is due to the intimate 
political relation which exists between South Carolina and the 
other States of this confederacy, that we should present a clear 
and distinct exposition of the principles on which we have act- 
ed, and of the causes by which we have been reluctantly con- 
strained to assume this attitude of sovereign resistance in rela- 
tion to the usurpations of the Federal Government. 

For this purpose, it will be necessary to state briefly, what we 



60 

conceive to be the relation created by the Federal Constitution, 
between the States and the General Government; and also what 
we conceive to be the true character and practical operation of 
the system of protecting duties, as it affects our rights, our in- 
terests, and our liberties. 

We hold then, that on their separation from the Crown of 
Great Britain, the several Colonies became free and indepen- 
dent States, each enjoying the separate and independent right 
of self-government ; and that no authority can be exercised over 
them, or within their limits, but by their consent respectively 
given as States. It is equally true, that the Constitution of the 
United States, is a compact formed between the several States, 
acting as sovereign communities ; that the Government created 
by it, is a joint agency of the States, appointed to execute the 
powers enumerated and granted by that instrument ; that all its 
acts not intentionally authorized, are of themselves essentially 
null and void ; and that the States have the right, in the same 
sovereign capacity in which they adopted the Federal Constitu- 
tion, to pronounce, in the last resort, authoritative judgment on 
the usurpations of the Federal Government, and to adopt such 
measures as they may deem necessary and expedient to arrest 
the operation of the unconstitutional acts of that Government 
within their respective limits. Such we deem to be the inherent 
rights of the States — rights, in the very nature of things, abso- 
lutely inseparable from sovereignty.' Nor is the duty of a State, 
to arrest an unconstitutional and oppressive act of the Federal 
Government, less imperative, than the right is incontestible. 
Each State, by ratifying the Federal Constitution, and becom- 
ing a member of the confederacy, contracted an obligation to 
" protect and defend" that instrument, as well by resisting the 
usurpations of the Federal Government, as by sustaining that 
Government in the exercise of the powers actually conferred 
upon it. And the obligation of the oath which is imposed, un- 
der the Constitution, on every functionary of the States, to 
" preserve, protect, and defend" the Federal Constitution, as 
clearly comprehends the duty of protecting and defending it 
against the usurpations of the Federal Government, as that of 
protecting and defending it against violation in any other form, 
or from any other quarter. 



61 

It is true, that in ratifying the Federal Constitution, the 
States placed a large and important portion of the rights of 
their citizens under the joint protection of all the States, with a 
view to their more effectual security ; but it is not less true that 
they reserved a portion still larger, and not less important under 
their own immediate guardianship, and in relation to which 
their original obligation to protect their citizens, from whatever 
quarter assailed, remains unchanged and undiminished. 

But clear and undoubted as we regard the right, and sacred 
as we regard the duty of the States to interpose their sovereign 
power for the purpose of protecting their citizens from the un- 
constitutional and oppressive acts of the Federal Government, 
yet we are as clearly of the opinion, that nothing short of that 
high moral and political necessity, which results from acts of 
usurpation, subversive of the rights and liberties of the people, 
should induce a member of this confederacy to resort to this in- 
terposition. Such, however, is the melancholy and painful ne- 
cessity under which we have declared the acts of Congress, im- 
posing protecting duties, null and void within the limits of South 
Carolina. The spirit and the principles which animated your 
ancestors and ours in the councils and in the fields of their com- 
mon glory, forbid us to submit any longer to a system of legis- 
lation, now become the established policy of the Federal Gov- 
ernment, by which we are reduced to a condition of colonial 
vassalage, in all its aspects more oppressive and intolerable than 
that from which our common ancestors relieved themselves by 
the war of the revolution. There is no right which enters more 
essentially into a just conception of liberty, than that of the free 
and unrestricted use of the productions of our industry. This 
clearly involves the right of carrying the productions of that in- 
dustry wherever they can be most advantageously exchano-ed, 
whether in foreign or domestic markets. South Carolina pro- 
duces, almost exclusively, agricultural staples, which derive 
their principal value from the demand for them in foreign coun- 
tries. Under these circumstances, her natural markets are 
abroad ; and restrictive duties imposed upon her intercourse 
with those markets, diminish the exchangeable value of her pro- 
ductions very nearly to the full extent of those duties. 

Under a system of free trade, the aggregate crop of South 



62 

Carolina could be exchanged for a larger quantity of manufac- 
tures, by at least one third, than it can be now exchanged for 
under the protecting system. It is no less evident, that the 
value of that crop is diminished by the protecting system very 
nearly, if not precisely, to the extent that the aggregate quan- 
tity of manufactures which can be obtained for it, is diminished. 
It is, indeed, strictly and philosophically true, that the quantity 
of consumable commodities which can be obtained for the cot- 
ton and rice annually produced by the industry of the State, is 
the precise measure of their aggregate value. But for the pre- 
valent and habitual error of confounding the money price with 
the exchangeable value of our agricultural staples, these proposi- 
tions would be regarded as self-evident. If the protecting duties 
were repealed, one hundred bales of cotton, or one hundred bar- 
rels of rice, would purchase as large a quantity of manufactures, 
as one hundred and fifty will now purchase. The annual income 
of the State, its means of purchasing and consuming the neces- 
saries and comforts and luxuries of life, would be increased in a 
corresponding degree. 

Almost the entire cotton crop of South Carolina, amounting 
annually to more than six millions of dollars, is ultimately ex- 
changed either for foreign manul'actures, subject to protecting 
duties, or for similar domestic manufactures. The natural value 
of that crop would be all the manufactures which we could ob- 
tain for it, under a system of unrestricted commerce. The arti- 
ficial value, produced by the unjust and unconstitutional legisla- 
tion of Congress, is only such part of those manufactures as will 
remain after paying a duty of fifty per cent, to the Government, 
or, to speak with more precision, to the Northern manufactu- 
rers. To make this obvious to the humblest comprehension, 
let it be supposed that the whole of the present crop should be 
exchanged by the planters themselves, for those foreign manu- 
factures, for which it is destined, by the inevitable course of 
trade, to be ultimately exchanged, either by themselves or their 
agents. Let it be also assumed, in conformity with the facts of 
the case, that New Jersey, for example, produces of the very 
same description of manufactures, a quantity equal to that which 
is purchased by the cotton crop of South Carolina. We have, 
then, two States of the same confederacy, bound to bear an 



equal share of the burthens, and entitled to enjoy an equal share 
of the benefits of the common government, with precisely the 
same quantity of productions, of the same quality and kind, pro- 
duced by their lawful industry. We appeal to your candor, and 
to your sense of justice, to say whether South Carolina has not 
a title as sacred and indefeasible to the full and undiminished 
enjoyment of these productions of her industry, acquired by the 
combined operations of agriculture and commerce, as New Jer- 
sey can have to the like enjoyment of similar productions of her 
industry, acquired by the process of manufacture f Upon no 
principle of constitutional right — upon no principle of human 
reason or justice, can any discrimination be drawn between the 
titles of South Carolina and New Jersey to these productions of 
their capital arid labor. Yet what is the discrimination actually 
made by the unjust, unconstitutional, and partial legislation of 
Congress f A duty, on an average, of fifty per cent., is imposed 
upon the productions of South Carolina, while no duty at all is 
imposed upon the similar productions of New Jersey ! The 
inevitable result is, that the manufactures thus lawfully acquired 
by the honest industry of South Carolina, are worth, annually, 
three millions of dollars less to her citizens, than the very same 
quantity of the very same description of manufactures are worth 
to the citizens of New Jersey — a difference of value produced 
exclusively by the operation of the protecting system. 

No ingenuity can either evade or refute this proposition. — 
The very axioms of geometry are not more self-evident. For 
even if the planters of South Carolina, in the case supposed, were 
to sell and not consume these productions of their industry, it 
is plain that they could obtain no higher price for them, after 
paying duties to the amount of ^'3,000,000, than the manufactu- 
rers of New Jersey would obtain for the same quantity of the 
same kind of manufactures, without paying any duty at all. 

This single view of the subject, exhibits the enormous inequal- 
ity and injustice of the protecting system in such a light, that 
we feel the most consoling confidence that we shall be fully jus- 
tified by the impartial judgment of posterity, whatever may be 
the issue of this unhappy controversy. We confidently appeal 
to our confederate States, and to the whole world, to decide 
whether the annals of human legislation furnish a parallel in- 



64 

stance of injustice and oppression perpetrated under the forms 
of a free government. However it may be disguised by the 
complexity of the process by which it is effected, it is nothing 
less than the monstrous outrage of taking three millions of dol- 
lars annually, from the value of the productions of South Caroli- 
na and transferring it to the people of other and distant commu- 
nities. No human Government, can rightfully exercise such a 
power. It violates the eternal principles of natural justice, and 
converts the Government into a mere instrument of legislative 
plunder. Of all the governments on the face of the earth, the 
Federal Government has the least shadow of a constitutional 
right to exercise such a power. It was created principally, and 
almost exclusively, for the purpose of protecting, improving, and 
extending that very commerce which, for the last ten years, all 
its powers have been most unnaturally and unrighteously per- 
verted to cripple and destroy. The power to "regulate com- 
merce with foreign nations," was granted, obviously, for the pre- 
servation of that commerce. The most important of all the 
duties which the Federal Government owes to South Carolina, 
under the compact of Union, is the protection and defence of 
her foreign commerce, against all the enemies by whom it may 
be assailed. And in what manner has this duty been discharged? 
All the powers of the earth, by their commercial restrictions, and 
all the pirates of the ocean, by their lawless violence, could not 
have done so much to destroy our commerce, as has been done 
by that very Government, to which its guardianship has been 
committed by the Federal Constitution. The commerce of 
South Carolina consists in exchanging the staple productions of 
her soil for the manufactures of Europe. It is a lawful com- 
merce. It violates the rights of no class of people in any por- 
tion of the confederacy. It is this very commerce, therefore, 
which the Constitution has enjoined it upon Congress to en- 
courage, protect, and defend, by such regulations as may be 
necessary to accomplish that object. But instead of that pro- 
tection, which is the only tie of our allegiance, as individual 
citizens to the Federal Government, we have seen a gigantic sys- 
tem of restrictions, gradually reared up, and at length brought 
to a fatal maturity, of which it is the avowed object and must be 



65 

the inevitable result, to sweep our commerce from the great 
highway of nations, and cover our land with poverty and ruin. 

Even the States most deeply interested in the maintenance of 
the protecting system will admit, that it is the interest of South 
Carolina to carry on a commerce of exchanges with foreign 
countries, free from restrictions, prohibitory burthens, or incum- 
brances of any kind. We feel, and we know, that the vital in- 
terests of the State, are involved in such a commerce. It would 
be a downright insult to our understandings, to tell us that our 
interests are not injured, deeply injured, by those prohibitory 
duties, intended and calculated to prevent us from obtaining the 
cheap manufactures of foreign countries for our staples, and to 
compel us to receive for them the dear manufactures of our do- 
mestic establishments, or pay the penalty of the protecting duties, 
for daring to exercise one of the most sacred of our natural 
rights. What right, then, human or divine, have the manufac- 
turing States — for we regard the Federal Government as a mere 
instrument in their hands — to prohibit South Carolina, directly, 
or indirectly, from going to her natural markets ; and exchang- 
ing the rich productions of her soil, without restriction or in- 
cumbrance, for such foreign articles as will most conduce to the 
wealth and prosperity of her citizens.^ It will not surely be pre- 
tended — for truth and decency equally forbid the allegation — 
that in exchanging our productions for the cheaper manufactures 
of Europe, we violate any right of the domestic manufacturers, 
however gratifying it might be to them, if we would purchase 
their inferior productions at higher prices. 

Upon what principle, then, can the State of South Carolina 
be called upon to submit to a system, which excludes her from 
her natural markets, and the manifold benefits of that enriching 
commerce, which a kind and beneficent Providence has provided, 
to connect her with the family of nations, by the bonds of mutual 
interest.^ But one answer can be given to this question. It is 
in vain that we attempt to disguise the fact, mortifying as it must 
be, that the principle by which South Carolina is thus excluded, 
is in strict propriety of language, and to all rational intents 
and purposes, a principle of colonial dependence and vassalage, 
identical with that which restrained our forefathers from trading 
with any manufacturing nation of Europe, other than Great 
10 



66 

Britain. South Carolina now bears the same relation to the 
manufacturing States of this confederacy, that the Anglo Amer- 
ican Colonies bore to the mother country, with the single ex- 
ception that our burthens are incomparably more oppressive than 
those of our ancestors. Our time, our pride, and the occasionj 
equally forbid us to trace out the degrading analogy. We leave 
that to the historian who shall record the judgment which an 
impartial posterity shall pronounce upon the eventful transac- 
tions of this day. 

It is in vain that we attempt to console ourselves by the empty 
and unreal mockery of our representation in Congress. As to 
all those great and vital interests of the States, which are affect- 
ed by the protecting system, it would be better that she had no 
representation in that body. It serves no other purpose but to 
conceal the chains which fetter our liberties under the vain and 
empty forms of a representative Government. In the enactment 
of the protecting system, the majority of Congress is, in strict 
propriety of speech, an irresponsible despotism. A very brief 
analysis will render this clear to every understanding. What, 
then, we ask, is involved in the idea of political responsibility, 
in the imposition of public burthens .'' It clearly implies that 
those who impose the burthens, should be responsible to those 
who bear them. Every representative in Congress should be re- 
sponsible, not only to his own immed iate constituents, but through 
them and their common participation in the burthens imposed, 
to the constituents of every other representative. If in the en- 
actment of a protecting tariff, the majority of Congress imposed 
upon their own constituents the same burthens which they im- 
pose upon the people of South Carolina, that majority would act 
under all the restraints of political responsibility, and we should 
have the best security which human wisdom has yet devised, 
against oppressive legislation. 

But the fact is precisely the reverse of this. The majority in 
Congress, in imposing protecting duties, which are utterly de- 
structive of the interests of South Carolina, not only impose no 
burthens, but actually confer enriching bounties upon their con- 
stituents, proportioned to the burthens they impose upon us. 
Under these circumstances, the principle of representative re- 
sponsibility, is perverted into a principle of absolute despotism. 



67 

It is this very tie, binding the majority of Congress to execute 
the will of their constituents, which makes them our inexorable 
oppressors. They dare not open their hearts to the sentiments 
of human justice, or to the feelings of human sympathy. They 
are tyrants by the very necessity of their position, however ele- 
vated may be their principles in their individual capacities. 

The grave question, then, which we have had to determine, 
as the sovereign power of the State, upon the awful responsi- 
bility under which we have acted, is, whether we will volunta- 
rily surrender the glorious inheritance, purchased and conse- 
crated by the toils, the sufferings, and the blood of an illustrious 
ancestry, or transmit that inheritance to our posterity, untar- 
nished and undiminished ? We could not hesitate in deciding 
this question. We have, therefore, deliberately and unalterably 
resolved, that we will no longer submit to a system of oppression, 
which reduces us to the degrading condition of tributary vassals ; 
and which would reduce our posterity, in a few generations, to a 
state of poverty and wretchedness, that would stand in melan- 
choly contrast with the beautiful and delightful region, in which 
the providence of God has cast our destinies. Having formed 
this resolution, with a full view of all its bearings, and of all its 
probable and possible issues, it is due to the gravity of the sub- 
ject, and the solemnity of the occasion, that we should speak to 
our confederate brethren, in the plain language of frankness and 
truth. Though we plant ourselves upon the Constitution, and the 
immutable principles of justice, and intend to operate exclusively 
through the civil tribunals and civil functionaries of the State ; 
yet, we will throw off this oppression, at every hazard. We be- 
lieve our remedy to be essentially peaceful. We believe the 
Federal Government has no shadow of right or authority, to act 
against a sovereign State of the confederacy, in any form, much 
less to coerce it, by military power. But we are aware of the 
diversities of human opinion ; and have seen too many proofs of 
the infatuation of human power, not to have looked, with the 
most anxious concern, to the possibility of a resort to military 
or naval force on the part of the Federal Government ; and in 
order to obviate the possibility of having the history of this con- 
test stained by a single drop of fraternal blood we have solemnly 



68 

and irrevocably resolved, that we will regard such a resort as a 
dissolution of the political ties which connect us with our con- 
federate States ; and will, forthwith, provide for the organization 
of a new and separate Government. 

We implore you, and particularly the manufacturing States, 
not to believe that we have been actuated, in adopting this reso- 
lution, by any feeling of resentment, or hostility towards them; 
or, by a desire, to dissolve the political bonds which have so 
long united our common destinies. We still cherish that 
rational devotion to the Union, by which this State has been 
pre-eminently distinguished, in all times past. But that blind 
and idolatrous devotion, which would bow down and worship 
Oppression and Tyranny, veiled under that consecrated title — 
if it ever existed among us, has now vanished forever. Con- 
stitutional Liberty is the only idol of our political devotion ; 
and, to preserve that, we will not hesitate a single moment, to 
surrender the Union itself, if the sacrifice be necessary. If it 
had pleased God to cover our eyes with ignorance — if he had 
not bestowed upon us the understanding to comprehend the 
enormity of the oppression under which we labor, we might sub- 
mit to it without absolute degradation and infamy. But the 
gifts of Providence cannot be neglected, or abused, with im- 
punity. A people, who deliberately submit to oppression, with 
a full knowledge that they are oppressed, are fit only to be 
slaves ; and all history proves, that such a people will soon find 
a master. It is the pre-existing spirit of slavery in the people, 
that has made tyrants in all ages of the world. No tyrant ever 
made a slave — no community, however small, having the spirit 
of freemen, ever yet had a master. The most illustrious of those 
States, which have given to the world examples of human free- 
dom, have occupied territories not larger than some of the dis- 
tricts of South Carolina; while the largest masses of popula- 
tion, that were ever united under a common government, have 
been the abject, spiritless, and degraded slaves of despotic 
rulers. We sincerely hope, therefore, that no portion of the 
States of this Confederacy, will permit themselves to be deluded 
into any measures of rashness, by the vain imagination, that South 
Carolina will vintlicatc her rights and liberties, with a less in- 
flexible and unfaltering resolution, with a population of some 



69 

half a million, than she would do with a population of twenty 
millions. 

It does not belong to Freemen to count the costs, and calcu- 
late the hazards of vindicating their rights and defending their 
liberties ; and even if we should stand alone in the worst possi- 
ble emergency of this great controversy, without the co-opera- 
tion or encouragement of a single State of the confederacy, we 
will march forward with an unfaltering step, until we have ac- 
complished the object of this great enterprise. 

Having now presented, for the consideration of the Federal 
Government and our confederate States, the fixed and final de- 
termination of this State, in relation to the protecting system, it 
remains for us to submit a plan of taxation in which we would 
be willing to acquiesce, in a spirit of liberal concession, provided 
we are met in due time and in a becoming spirit, by the States 
interested in the protection of manufactures. 

We believe that upon every just and equitable principle of 
taxation, the whole list of protected articles should be imported 
free of all duty, and that the revenue derived from import duties, 
should be raised exclusively from the unprotected articles, or 
that, whenever a duty is imposed upon protected articles im- 
ported, an excise duty of the same rate should be imposed upon 
all similar articles manufactured in the United States. This 
would be as near an approach to perfect equality as could pos- 
sibly be made, in a system of indirect taxation. No substantial 
reason can be given for subjecting manufactures obtained from 
abroad in exchange for the productions of South Carolina, to the 
smallest duty, even for revenue, which would not show that sim- 
ilar manufactures made in the United States, should be subject 
to the very same rate of duty. The former, not less than the 
latter, are, to every rational intent, the productions of domestic 
industry, and the mode of acquiring the one, is as lawful and 
more conducive to the public prosperity, than that of acquiring 
the other. 

But we are willing to make a large offering to preserve the 
Union ; and with a distinct declaration that it is a concession on 
our part, we will consent that the same rate of duty may be im- 
posed upon the protected articles that shall be imposed upon 
the unprotected, provided that no more revenue be raised than 



70 

is necessary to meet the demands of the Government for Consti- 
tutional purposes, and provided also, that a duty, substantially 
uniform, be imposed upon all foreign imports. 

It is obvious, that, even under this arrangement, the manufac- 
turing States would have a decided advantage over the planting 
States. For it is demonstrably evident that, as communities, 
the manufacturing States would bear no part of the burthens of 
Federal Taxation, so far as the revenue should be derived from 
protected articles. The earnestness with which their represen- 
tatives seek to increase the duties on these articles, is conclusive 
proof that those duties are bounties, and not burthens, to their 
constituents. As at least two-thirds of the federal revenue 
would be raised from protected articles, under the proposed 
modification of the Tariff, the manufacturing States would be 
entirely exempted from all participation in that proportion of 
the public burthens. 

Under these circumstances, we cannot permit ourselves to be- 
lieve for a moment, that in a crisis marked by such portentous 
and fearful omens, those States can hesitate in acceding to this 
arrangement, when they perceive that it will be the means, and 
possibly the only means, of restoring the broken harmony of this 
great confederacy. They most assuredly have the strongest of 
human inducements, aside from all considerations of justice, to 
adjust this controversy, without pushing it to extremities. This 
can be accomplished only by the proposed modification of the 
Tariff, or by the call of a General Convention of all the States. 
If South Carolina should be driven out of the Union, all the 
other Planting States, and some of the Western States, would 
follow by an almost absolute necessity. Can it be believed that 
Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and even Kentucky, would 
continue to pay a tribute of fifty per cent, upon their consump- 
tion, to the Northern States, for the privilege of being united to 
them, when they could receive all their supplies through the 
ports of South Carolina, without paying a single cent of tribute ? 

The separation of South Carolina would inevitably produce a 
general dissolution of the Union ; and as a necessary conse- 
quence, the protecting system, with all its pecuniary bounties, 
to the Northern States, and its pecuniary burthens upon the 
Southern States, would be utterly overthrown and demolished, 



71 

involving the ruin of thousands and hundreds of thousands in the 
manufacturing States. 

By these powerful considerations, connected with their own 
pecuniary interests, we beseech them to pause and contemplate 
the disastrous consequences which will certainly result from an 
obstinate perseverance on their part, in maintaining the pro- 
tecting system. With them, it is a question merely of pecuniary 
interest, connected with no shadow of right, and involving no 
principle of liberty. With us, it is a question involving our 
most sacred rights — those very rights which our common ances- 
tors left to us as a common inheritance, purchased by their com- 
mon toils and consecrated by their blood. It is a question of 
liberty on the one hand, and slavery on the other. ' If we sub- 
mit to this system of unconstitutional oppression, we shall volun- 
tarily sink into slavery, and transmit that ignominious inherit- 
ance to our children. We will not, we cannot, we dare not 
submit to this degradation, and our resolve is fixed and unalter- 
able that a protecting tariff shall be no longer enforced within 
the limits of South Carolina. We stand upon the principles of 
everlasting justice, and no human power shall drive us from our 
position. 

We have not the slightest apprehension that the general gov- 
ernment will attempt to force this system upon us by military 
power. We have warned our brethren of the consequences of 
such an attempt. But if, notwithstanding, such a course of 
madness should be pursued, we here solemnly declare that this 
system of oppression shall never prevail in South Carolina, until 
none but slaves are left to submit to it. We would infinitely 
prefer that the territory of the State should be the cemetery of 
freemen than the habitation of slaves. Actuated by these prin- 
ciples, and animated by these sentiments, we will cling to the 
pillars of the temple of our liberties, and if it must fall, we will 
perish amidst the ruins. 

J. HAMILTON, JuN., President of the Convention. 

[Attest.] 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, Clerk. 



PROCLAMATION 



PRESIDENT 



/ 
U1\ITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



PROCLAMATION 



Whereas, a Convention assembled in the State of South Car- 
olina, have passed an Ordinance, by which they declare " That 
the several acts and parts of acts of the Congress of the United 
States, purporting to be laws for the imposing of duties and im- 
posts on the importation of foreign commodities, and now hav- 
ing actual operation and effect within the United States, and 
more especially" two acts for the same purposes passed on the 
28th of May, 1S28, and on the 14tb of July, 1832, "are unau- 
thorized by the Constitution of the United States, and violate 
the true meaning and intent thereof, and are null and void, and 
no law," nor binding on the citizens of that State or its officers ; 
and by the said Ordinance it is further declared to be unlawful 
for any of the constituted authorities of the State, or of the 
United States, to enforce the payment of the duties imposed by 
the said acts within the same State, and that it is the duty of the 
Legislature to pass such laws as may be necessary to give full 
effect to the said Ordinance : 

And, whereas, by the Ordinance it is further ordained,,that in 
no case of law or equity, decided in the courts of said State, 
wherein shall be drawn in question the validity of the said Ordi- 
nance, or the acts of the Legislature that maybe passed to give 
it effect, or of the said laws of the United States, shall an appeal 
be allowed to the Supreme Court of the United States, nor shall 
any copy of the record be permitted or allowed for that pur- 
pose ; and that any person attempting to take such appeal, shall 
be punished as for a contempt of Court : 

And, finally, the said Ordinance declares that the people of 



76 

South Carolina will maintain the said Ordinance at every haz- 
ard ; and that they will consider the passage of an act by Con- 
gress abolishing or closing the ports of the said State, or other- 
wise obstructing the free ingress and egress of vessels to and 
from the said port, or any other act of the Federal Government to 
coerce the State, shut up her ports, destroy or harrass her com- 
merce, or to enforce said acts otherwise than through the civil 
tribunals of the country, as inconsistent with the longer continu- 
ance of South Carolina in the Union ; and that the people of 
the said State will thenceforth hold themselves absolved from 
all further obligation to maintain or preserve their political con- 
nexion with the people of the other States, and will forthwith 
proceed to organize a separate Government, and do all other 
acts and things which sovereign and independent States may of 
right do. 

And, whereas, the said Ordinance prescribes to the people of 
South Carolina a course of conduct in direct violation of their 
duty as citizens of the United States, contrary to the laws of 
their country, subversive of its Constitution, and having for its 
object the destruction of the Union — that Union, which, coeval 
with our political existence, led our fathers, without any other 
ties to unite them than those of patriotism and a common cause, 
through a sanguinary struggle, to a gki^rious independence — 
that sacred Union, hitherto inviolate, whii^ perfected by our 
happy Constitution, has brought us, by the favor of Heaven, to 
a state of prosperity at home, and high consideration abroad, 
rarely, if ever, equalled in the history of nations. To preserve 
this bond of our political existence from destruction, to main- 
tain inviolate this state of national honor and prosperity, and to 
justify the confidence my fellow citizens have reposed in me, I 
Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, have thought 
proper to issue this my Proclamation, stating my views of the 
Constitution and laws applicable to the measures adopted by 
the Convention of South Carolina, and the reasons they have 
put forth to sustain them, declaring the course which duty will 
require me to pursue, and appealing to the understanding and 
patriotism of the people, to warn them of the conseciuences must 
inevitably result from an observance of the dictates of the Con- 
vention. 



77 

Strict duty would require of me nothing more than the exer- 
cise of those powers with which 1 am now, or may hereafter be in- 
vested, for preserving the peace of the Union-, and for the exe- 
cution of the laws. But the imposing aspect which opposition; 
has assumed in this case, by clothing itself with State author- 
ity, and the deep interest which the people of th« United States 
must all feel in preventing a resort to stronger measures, while 
there is a hope that any thing will be yielded to reasoning and 
remonstrance, perhaps demand, and will certainly justify a full 
exposition to South Carolina and the nation, of the views 1 enter- 
tain of this important question, as well as a distinct enunciation 
of the course which my sense of duty will require me to pursue. 

This Ordinance is founded, not on the indefeasible right of 
resisting acts which are plainly unconstitutional, and too op- 
pressive to be endured, but on the strange position that any one 
State may not only declare an act of Congress void, but prohibit 
its execution — that they may do this consistently with the Con- 
stitution — that the true construction of that instrument permits 
a State to retain its place in the Union, and yet be bound by no. 
other of its laws than those it may choose to consider as consti- 
tutional. It is true, they add, that to justify this abrogation of 
a law, it must be palpably contrary to the Constitution ; but it is 
evident that, to give the right of resisting laws of that description^ 
coupled with the uncontrolled right to decide what laws deserve 
that character, is to give the power of resisting all laws. For, 
as by the theory there is no appeal, the reasons alleged by the 
State, good or bad, must prevail. If it should be said that pub- 
lic opinion is a sufficient check against the abuse of this power, 
it may be asked why it is not deemed a sufficient guard against 
the passage of an unconstitutional act by Congress.^ There is, 
however, a restraint in this last case, which makes the assumed 
power of a State more indefeasible, and which does not exist in 
the other. There are two appeals from an unconstitutional act 
passed by Congress — one to the Judiciary, the other to the peo- 
ple and the States. There is no appeal from the State decision 
in theory, and the practical illustration shows that the Courts 
are closed against an application to review it, both judges and 
jurors being sworn to decide in its favor. But reasoning on this 
subject is superfluous, when our social compact in express terms 



78 

declares, that the laws of the United States, its Constitution, 
and treaties made under it, are the supreme law of the land ; and 
for greater caution, adds, " that the Judges in every State shall 
be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or laws of any 
State to the contrary notwithstanding." And it may be assert- 
ed, without fear of refutation, that no Federative Government 
could exist without a similar provision. Look for a moment to 
the consequence. 

If South Carolina considers the revenue laws as unconstitu- 
tional, and has a right to prevent their execution in the port of 
Charleston, there would be a clear constitutional objection to 
their collection in every other port, and no revenue could be 
collected any where ; for all imposts must be equal. It is no 
answer to repeat that an unconstitutional law is no law, so long 
as the question of its legality is to be decided by the State itself; 
for every law operating injuriously upon any local interest, will 
be perhaps thought, and certainly represented, as unconstitu- 
tional, and it has been shown, there is no appeal. 

If this doctrine had been established at an earlier day, the 
Union would have been dissolved in its infancy. The excise law 
in Pennsylvania, the embargo and non-intercourse laws in the 
Eastern States, the carriage tax in Virginia, were all deemed un- 
constitutional, and were more unequal in their operation than 
any of the laws now complained of; but, fortunately, none of 
those States discovered that they had the right now claimed by 
South Carolina. The war into which we were forced, to sup- 
port the dignity of the nation and the rights of our citizens, 
might have ended in defeat and disgrace, instead of victory and 
honor, if the States, who supposed it a ruinous and unconstitu- 
tional measure, had thought they possessed the right of nullify- 
ing the act by which it was declared, and denying supplies for 
its prosecution. Hardly and unequally as those measures bore 
upon several members of the Union, to the legislature of none 
did this efficient and peaceable remedy, as it is called, suggest 
itself. The discovery of this important feature in our constitution 
was reserved to the present day. To the statesmen of South 
Carolina belongs the invention, and upon the citizens of that 
State will unfortunately fall the evils of reducing it to practice. 

If the doctrine of a State veto, upon the laws of the Union, 



79 

carries with it internal evidence of its impracticable absurdity, 
our constitutional history will also afford abundant proof that it 
would have been repudiated with indignation, had it been pro- 
posed to form a feature in our Government. 

In our colonial state, although dependent on another power, 
we very early considered ourselves as connected by common in- 
terest with each other. Leagues were formed for common de- 
fence, and before the Declaration of Independence we were 
known in our aggregate character as the United Colonies of 
America. That decisive and important step was taken jointly. 
We declared ourselves a nation by a joint, not by several acts ; 
and when the terms of our confederation were reduced to form, 
it was in that of a solemn league of several States, by which 
they agreed that they would collectively, form one nation, for 
the purpose of conducting some certain domestic concerns, and 
all foreign relations. In the instrument forming that Union, is 
found an article which declares that " every State shall abide by 
the determinations of Congress on all questions which by that 
confederation should be submitted to them." 

Under the confederation, then, no State could legally annul a 
decision of the Congress, or refuse to submit to' its execution ; 
but no provision was made to enforce these decisions. Con- 
gress made requisitions but they were not complied with. The 
Government could not operate on individuals. They had no 
Judiciary, no means of collecting revenue. 

But the defects of the confederation need not be detailed. 
Under its operation, we would scarcely be called a nation. We 
had neither prosperity at home nor consideration abroad. This 
state of things could not be endured, and our present happy 
Constitution was formed ; but formed in vain if this fatal doctrine 
prevails. It was formed for important objects that are an- 
nounced in the preamble made in the name and by the authori- 
ty of the people of the United States, whose delegates framed, 
and whose conventions approved it. The most important among 
these objects, that which is placed first in rank, on which all the 
others rest " is to form a more perfect Union." Now, is it possible 
that, even if there were no express provisions giving supremacy 
to the Constitution and laws of the United States over those of 
the States, it can be conceived, that an instrument made for the 



80 

purpose of " forming a more perfect Union" than that of the 
confederation', could be so constructed by the assembled wis- 
dom of our country as to substitute for that confederation a form 
of government dependent for its existence on the local interest, 
the party spirit of a State, or of a prevailing faction in a State? 
Every man of plain unsophisticated understanding, who hears the 
question, will give such an answer as will preserve the Union. 
Metaphysical subtlety, in pursuit of an impracticable theory, 
could alone have devised one that is calculated to destroy it. 

I consider, then, the power to annul a law of the United 
States, assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence 
of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Consti- 
tution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every princi- 
ple on which it was founded, and destructive of the great object 
for which it was formed. 

After this general view of the leading principle, we must ex- 
amine the particular application of it which is made in the ordi- 
nance. 

The preamble rests its justification on these grounds : It as- 
sumes as a fact, that the obnoxious laws, although they purport 
to be laws for raising revenue, were in reality intended for the 
protection of manufactures, which purpose it asserts to be un- 
constitutional ; that the operation of these laws is unequal ; that 
the amount raised by them is greater than is required by the 
wants of the Government ; and, finally that the proceeds are to 
be applied to objects unauthorized by the Constitution. These 
are the only causes alledged to justify an open opposition to the 
laws of the country, and a threat of seceding from the Union, if 
any attempt should be made to enforce them. She first virtually 
acknowledges that the law in question was passed under a pow- 
er expressly given by the Constitution to lay and collect imposts, 
but its constitutionality is drawn in question from the motives of 
those who passed it. However apparent this purpose may be in 
the present case, nothing can be more dangerous than to admit 
the position that an unconstitutional purpose, entertained by the 
members who assent to a law enacted under a constitutional 
power, shall make that law void ; for how is that purpose to be 
ascertained ? Who is to make the scrutiny ? How often may 
bad purposes be falsely imputed ? In how many cases are they 



81 

concealed by false profession ? In how many is no declaration 
of motive made ? Admit this doctrine, and you give to the States 
an uncontrolled right to decide ; and every law may be annulled 
under this pretext. If, therefore, the absurd and dangerous 
doctrine should be admitted, that a State may annul an uncon- 
stitutional law, or one that it deems such, it will not apply to the 
present case. 

The next objection is, that the laws in question operate une- 
qually. This objection may be made with truth to every law 
that has been or can be passed. The wisdom of man never 
yet contrived a system of taxation that would operate with per- 
fect equality. If the unequal operation of a law makes it un- 
constitutional, and if all laws of that description may be abro- 
gated by any State for that cause, then indeed is the Federal 
Constitution unworthy of the slightest effort for its preservation. 
We have hitherto relied on it as the perpetual bond of our 
Union. We have received it as the work of the assembled wis- 
dom of the nation. We have trusted to it as to the sheet anchor 
of our safety, in the stormy times of conflict with a foreign or 
domestic foe. We have looked to it with sacred awe as the pal- 
ladium of our liberties, and with all the solemnities of religion, 
have pledged to each other our lives and fortunes here, and our 
hopes of happiness hereafter, in its defence and support. Were 
we mistaken, my countrymen, in attaching this importance to 
the Constitution of our country .f* Was our devotion paid to the 
wretched, inefficient, clumsy contrivance, which this new doc- 
trine would make it.^ Did we pledge ourselves to the support 
of an airy nothing — a bubble that must be blown away by the 
first breath of disaffection.'' Was this self-destroying, visionary 
theory, the work of the profound statesmen, the exalted patri- 
ots, to whom the task of constitutional reform was entrusted .'' 
Did the name of Washington sanction, did the States deliberate- 
ly ratify such an anomaly in the history of fundamental legisla- 
tion f No. We were not mistaken ! The letter of this great 
instrument is free from this radical fault ; its language directly 
contradicts the imputation : its spirit — its evident intent — con- 
tradicts it. No; we did not err! Our Constitution does not 
contain the absurdity of giving power to make laws, and another 
power to resist them. 



The sages, whose memory will always be reverenced, have 
given us a practical, and, as they hoped, a permanent constitu- 
tional compact. The Father of his country did not. affix his 
revered name to so palpable an absurdity. Nor did the States 
when they severally ratified it, do so under the impression that 
a veto on the laws of the United States was reserved to them, 
or that they could exercise it by implication. Search the de- 
bates in all their Conventions — examine the speeches of the 
most zealous opposers of Federal authority^ook at the amend- 
ments that were proposed. They are all silent — not a syllable 
uttered, not a vote given, not a motion made to correct the ex- 
plicit supremacy given to the laws of the Union over those of 
the States — or to show that implication, as is now contended, 
could defeat it. No, we have not erred ! The Constitution is 
still the object of our reverence, the bond of our Union, our de- 
fence in danger, the source of our prosperity in peace. It shall 
descend, as we have received it, uncorrupted by sophistical con- 
struction, to our posterity ; and the sacrifices of local interest, 
of State prejudices, of personal animosities, that were made to 
bring it into existence, will again be patriotically offered for its 
support. 

The two remaining objections made by the Ordinance to these 
laws are, that the sums intended to be raised by them are greater 
than are required, and that the proceeds will be unconstitution- 
ally employed. The Constitution has..given expressly to Con- 
gress the right of raising revenue, and of determining the sum 
the public exigencies will require. The States have no control 
over the exercise of this right, other than that which results from 
the power of changing the representatives who abuse it, and thus 
procure redress. Congress may undoubtedly abuse this discre- 
tionary power, but the same may be said of others with which 
they are vested. Yet the discretion must exist somewhere. 
The Constitution has given it to the Representatives of all tiie 
People, checked by the Representatives of the States, and by 
the Executive power. The South Carolina construction gives it 
to the Legislature or Convention of a single Slate, where neither 
the people of the different States nor the State in their separate 
capacity, nor the Chief INlagistrate elected by the people, iiave 
any representation. Which is the most discreet disposition of 



the power ? I do not ask you, fellow citizens, which is the Con- 
stitutional disposition — that instrument speaks a language not 
to be misunderstood. But if you were assembled in general 
convention, which would you think the safest depository for this 
discretionary power in the last resort. Would you add a clause 
giving it to each of the States, or would you sanction the wise 
provisions already made by your Constitution ? If this should be 
the result of your deliberations, when providing for the future, 
are you, can you — be ready to risk all that we hold dear, to es- 
tablish for a temporary and a local purpose, that which you must 
acknowledge to be destructive, and even absurd, as a general 
provision ? Carry out the consequences of this right vested 
in the different States, and you must perceive that the crisis your 
conduct presents at this day would recur whenever any law of 
the United States displeased any of the States, and that we 
should soon cease to be a nation. 

The Ordinance, with the same knowledge of the future that 
characterizes a former objection, tells you that the proceeds of 
the tax will be unconstitutionally applied. If this could be as- 
certained with certainty, the objection would, with more pro- 
priety, be reserved for the law so applying the proceeds, but 
surely cannot be urged against the laws levying the duty. 

These are the allegations contained in the Ordinance. Ex- 
amine them seriously, my fellow citizens — judge for yourselves. 
I appeal to you to determine whether they are so clear, so con- 
vincing, as to leave no doubt of their correctness : and even if 
you should come to this conclusion, how far they justify the 
reckless, destructive course, which you are directed to pursue. 
Review these objections, and the couclusions drawn from them 
once more. What are they.'' Every law, then, for raising rev- 
enue, according to the South Carolina Ordinance, may be right- 
fully annulled, unless it be so framed as no law ever will or can 
be framed. Congress have a right to pass laws for raising rev- 
enue, and each State has a right to oppose their execution — 
two rights directly opposite to each other ; and yet is this ab- 
surdity supposed to be contained in an instrument drawn for the 
express purpose of avoiding collisions between the States and 
the General Government, by an assembly of the most enlightened 
statesmen and purest patriots ever embodied for a similar purpose. 



84 

In vain have these sages declared that Congress shall have pow- 
er to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excise — in vain 
have they provided that they shall have power to pass all laws 
which shall be necessary and proper to carry those powers into 
execution ; that those laws and that Constitution shall be the 
"supreme law of the land ; and that the judges in every State 
shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or laws of 
any State to the contrary notwithstanding." In vain have the 
people of the several States solemnly sanctioned these provis- 
ions, made them their paramount law, and individually sworn to 
support them whenever they were called on to execute any of- 
fice. Vain provisions ! ineffectual restrictions ! vile profanation 
of oaths ! miserable mockery of legislation ! If a bare majority 
of the voters in any one State may, on a real or supposed 
knowledge of the intent with which a law has been passed, de- 
clare themselves free from its operation — say here it gives too 
little, there too much, and operates unequally — here it suffers 
articles to be free that ought to be taxed, there it taxes those 
that ought to be free — in this case the proceeds are intended to 
be applied to purposes which we do not approve ; in that the 
amount raised is more than is wanted. Congress, it is true, are 
invested by the Constitution, with the right of deciding these 
questions according to their sound discretion. Congress is com- 
posed of the Representatives of all the States and all the peo- 
ple of the States; but we, part of the people of one State, to 
whom t'le Constitution has given no power on the subject, from 
whom it has expressly taken it away ; we, who have solemnly 
agreed that this Constitution shall be our law — we, most of whom 
have sworn to support it — we, now abrogate this law, and swear, 
and force others to swear, that it shall not be obeyed — and we do 
this not because Congress have no right to pass such laws — this 
we do not allege ; but because they have passed them with im- 
proper views. 

They arc unconstitutional from the motives of those who pass- 
ed them, which we can never with certainty know, from their 
unequal operation, although it is impossible from the nature of 
things that they should be equal — and from the disposition 
which we presume may be made of their proceeds, although 
that disposition has not been declared. This is the plain mean- 



85 

ing of the Ordinance in relation to laws which it abrogates for 
alleged unconstitutionality. But it does not stop there. It re- 
peals, in express terms, an important part of the Constitution 
itself, and of laws passed to give it eflect, which have never 
been alleged to be unconstitutional. The Constitution declares 
that the judicial powers of the United States extend to cases 
arising under the laws of the United States, and that such laws, 
the Constitution and treaties, shall be paramount to the State 
Constitution and laws. 

The judiciary act prescribes the mode by which the case may 
be brought before a Court of the United States by appeal, when 
a State tribunal shall decide against this provision of the Con- 
stitution. The Ordinance declares there shall be no appeal ; 
makes the State law paramount to the Constitution of the 
United States ; forces judges and jurors to swear they will dis- 
regard its provisions ; and even makes it penal in a suitor to 
attempt relief by appeal. It further declares that it shall not 
be lawful for the authorities of the United States, or of that 
State, to enforce the payment of duties imposed by the revenue 
laws within its limits. 

Here is a law of the United States, not even pretended to be 
unconstitutional, repealed by the authority of a small majority 
of the voters of a single State. Here is a provision of the Con- 
stitution which is solemnly abrogated by the same authority. 

On such expositions and reasonings, the Ordinance grounds 
not only an assertion of the right to annul the laws of which it 
complains, but to enforce it by a threat of seceding from the 
Union, if any attempt is made to execute them. 

The right to secede is deduced from the nature of the Con- 
stitution, which, they say, is a compact between the sovereign 
States, who have preserved their whole sovereignty, and, there- 
fore, are subject to no superior ; that because they made the 
compact, they can break it when, in their opinion, it has been 
departed from by the other States. Fallacious as this course of 
reasoning is, it enlists State pride, and finds advocates in the 
honest prejudice of those who have not studied the nature of our 
Government sufficiently to see the radical error on which it 
rests. 

The people of the United States formed the Constitution, act- 



86 

ing through the State Legislatures in making the compact, to 
meet and discuss its provisions, and acting in separate Conven- 
tions when they ratified these provisions ; but the terms used in 
its construction, show it to be a Government in which the peo- 
ple of all the States collectively are represented. We are one 
people in the choice of the President and Vice President. Here 
the States have no other agency than to direct the mode in 
which the votes shall be given. The candidates having the ma- 
jority of all the votes are chosen. The electors of a majority of 
States may have given their votes for one candidate, and yet 
another may be chosen. The people then, and not the States, 
are represented in the Executive branch. 

In the House of Representatives there is this difference, that 
the people of one State do not, as in the case of President and 
Vice President, all vote for the same officers. The people of 
ail the States do not vote for all the members, each State elect- 
ing only its own Representatives. But this creates no material 
distinction. When chosen, they are all representatives of the 
United Slates, not representatives of the particular State from 
which they come. They are paid by tl>e United States, not by 
the State, nor are they accountable to it for any act done in the 
performance of their legislative functions ; and, however they 
may in practice, as it is their duty to do, consult and prefer the 
interests of their particular constituents when they come in con- 
flict with any other partial or local interest, yet it is their first 
and highest duty as representatives of the United States, to pro- 
mote the general good. 

The Constitution of the United States, then, forms a Govern- 
ment, not a league 5 and whether it be formed by compact be- 
tween the States, or in any other manner, its character is tiie 
same. It is a Government in which all the people are repre- 
sented, which operates directly on the people individually, not 
upon the States ; they retained all the power tliey did not grant. 
But each State having expressly parted with so many powers as 
to constitute jointly with the other States a single nation, can- 
not from that period possess any right to secede, because such 
secession does not break a league, but destroys the unity of a 
nation ; and any injury to that unity is not ordy a breach which 
would result from the contravention of a compact, but it is an 



87 

offence against the whole Union. To say that any State may 
at pleasure secede from the Union, is to say that the United 
States are not a nation ; because it would be a solecism to con- 
tend that any part of a nation might dissolve its connexion with 
the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without committing any 
offence. 

Secession, like any other revolutionary act, may be morally 
justified by the extremity of oppression, but to call it a constitu- 
tional right, is confounding the meaning of terms; and can only 
be done through gross error, or to deceive those who are willing 
to assert a right, but would pause before they made a revolu- 
tion, or incurred the penalties consequent on a failure. 

Because the Union was formed by compact, it is said the par- 
ties to that compact may, when they feel themselves aggrieved, 
depart from it; but it is precisely because it is a compact that 
they cannot. A compact is an agreement or binding obligation. 
It may, by its terms, have a sanction or penalty for its breach, 
or it may not. If it contains no sanction, it may be broken with 
no other consequence than moral guilt ; if it have a sanction, 
then the breach incurs the designated or implied penalty. A 
league between independent nations, generally, has no sanction 
other than a moral one ; or, if it should contain a penalty, as 
there is no common superior, it cannot be enforced. A Gov- 
ernment, on the contrary, always has a sanction, express or im- 
plied ; and, in our case, it is both necessarily implied and 
expressly given. An attempt by force of arms to destroy a 
Government, is an offence, by whatever means the constitutional 
compact may have been formed ; and such Government has the 
right, by the law of self-defence, to pass acts for punishing the 
offender, unless that right is modified, restrained, or resumed by 
the constitutional act. In our system, although it is modified 
in the case of treason, yet authority is expressly given to pass 
all laws necessary to carry its power into effect, and under this 
grant provision has been made for punishing acts which obstruct 
the due administration of the laws. 

It would seem superfluous to add any thing to show the na- 
ture of that Union which connects us ; but as erroneous opin- 
ions on this subject are the foundation of doctrines the most de- 
structive to our peace, I must give some further developement 



88 

of my views upon this subject. No one, fellow citizens, has a 
higher reverence for the reserved rights of the States, than the 
Magistrate who now addresses you. No one would make greater 
personal sacrifices, or official exertions, to defend them from 
violation ; but equal care must be taken to prevent on their 
part an improper interference with, or resumption of, the rights 
they have vested in the nation. The line has not been so dis- 
tinctly drawn, as to avoid doubts in some cases of the exercise 
of power. Men of the best intentions and soundest views may 
differ in their construction of some parts of the Constitution ; 
but there are others on which dispassionate reflection can leave 
no doubt. Of this nature appears to be the assumed right of 
a secession. It rests, as we have seen, on the alleged undivided 
sovereignty of the States, and on their having formed in this 
sovereign capacity a compact which is called the Constitution, 
from which, because they made it, they have the right to secede. 
Both of these positions are erroneous, and some of the argu- 
ments to prove them so have been anticipated. 

The States severally have not retained their entire sove- 
reignty. It has been shown that in becoming parts of a nation, 
not members of a league, they surrendered many of their essen- 
tial parts of sovereignty. The rights to make treaties — declare 
vvrr — levy taxes — exercise exclusive judicial and legislative 
powers — were all of them functions of sovereign power. The 
States, then, for all these important purposes, were no longer 
sovereign. The allegiance of their citizens was transferred, in 
the first instance, to the Government of the United States ; they 
became American citizens, and owed obedience to the Consti- 
tution of the United States, and to the laws made in conformity 
with the powers it vested in Congress. This last position has 
not been, and cannot be denied. How then can that State be 
said to be sovereign and independent, whose citizens owe obe- 
dience to laws not made by it, and whose magistrates are sworn 
to disregard those laws, when they come in conflict with those 
passed by another ? What shows conclusively that the States 
cannot be said to have reserved an undivided sovereignty, is, 
that they expressly ceded the right to punish treason — not trea- 
son against their separate power — but treason against the 
United States. Treason is an ofience against sovereignty, and 



89 

sovereignty must reside with the power to punish it. But the 
reserved rights of the States are not less sacred, because they 
have for their common interest made the General Government 
the depository of these powers. The unity of our political 
character (as has been shown for another purpose) commenced 
with its very existence. Under the Royal Government we had 
no separate character — our opposition to its oppression began 
as United Colonies. 

We were the United States under the confederation, and the 
name was perpetuated, and the Union rendered more perfect, 
by the Federal Constitution. In none of these stages did we 
consider ourselves in any other light than as forming one nation. 
Treaties and alliances were made in the name of all. Troops 
were raised for the joint defence. How, then, with all these 
proofs, that under all changes of our position, we had, for desig- 
nated purposes and with defined powers, created National Gov- 
ernments — how is it, that the most perfect of those several 
modes of union, should now be considered as a mere league, 
that may be dissolved at pleasure ? It is from an abuse of terms. 
Compact is used as synonymous with league, although the true 
term is not employed, because it would at once show the fal- 
lacy of the reasoning. 

It would not do to say that our Constitution is only a league: 
but, it is labored to prove it a compact, (which in one sense it 
is) and then to argue that as a league is a compact, every com- 
pact between nations must of course be a league, and that from 
such an engagement every sovereign power has a right to secede. 
But it has been shown, that in this sense the States are not sove- 
reign, and that even if they were, and the National Constitution 
had been founded by compact, there would be no right in any 
one State to exonerate itself from its operations. 

So obvious are the reasons which forbid this secession, that it 
is necessary only to allude to them. The Union was formed for 
the benefit of all. It was produced by mutual sacrifices of in- 
terests and opinions. Can those sacrifices be recalled ? Can 
tiie States, who magnanimously surrendered their title to the 
Territories of the West, recall the grant? V/ill the inhabitants 
of the inland States agree to pay the duties that may be imposed 
without their assent by those on the Atlantic, or the Gulf, for 



90 

their own benefit ? Shall there be a free port in one State, and 
onerous duties in another ? No one believes that any right ex- 
ists in a single State to involve all the others in these and count- 
less other evils, contrary to the engagements solemnly made. 
Every one must see that the other States, in self defence, must 
oppose at all hazards. 

These are the alternatives that are presented by the Conven- 
tion. A repeal of all the acts for raising revenue, leaving the 
Government without the means of support ; or, an acquiescence 
in the dissolution of our Union, by the secession of one of its 
members. When the first was proposed, it was known that it 
could not be listened to for a moment. It was known that 
if force was applied to oppose the execution of the laws, it 
must be repelled by force — that Congress could not, without 
involving itself in disgrace, and the country in ruin, accede to 
the proposition ; and yet, if this is not done in a given day, or 
if any attempt is made to execute the laws, the State is, by the 
Ordinance, declared to be out of the Union. 

The majority of a Convention assembled for the purpose, have 
dicta'itid these terms, or rather this rejection of all terms, in 
the name of the people of South Carolina. It is true that the 
Goveinoi' of the State speaks of the submission of their griev- 
ances to a Convention of all the States ; which, he says, they 
" sincerely and anxiously seek and desire." Yet this obvious 
and coiut^.vtional mode of obtaining the sense of the other 
States on the construction of the Federal compact, and amend- 
ing it, if necessary, has never been attempted by those who have 
urged the State on to this destructive measure. The State 
might have proposed the call for a General Convention to the 
other States • and Congress, if a sufficient number of them con- 
curred, might have called it. But the first Magistrate of South 
Carolina, when he expressed a hope that, " on a review by Con- 
gress, and the functionaries of the General Government, of the 
merits of the controversy," such a Convention will be accorded 
to them, must have known that neither Congress, nor any func- 
tionary of the General Government, has authority to call such a 
Convention, unless it be demanded by two-thirds of the States. 
This suggestion, then, is another instance of the reckless inat- 
tention to the provisions of the Constitution with which this cri- 



91 

sis has been hurried on, or the attempt to persuade the people 
that a constitutional remedy had been sought, and refused. If 
the Legislature of South Carolina " anxiously desire" a General 
Convention to consider their complaints, why have they not 
made application for it in the way the Constitution points out ? 
The assertion that they " earnestly seek" it, is completely nega- 
tived by the omission. 

This, then, is the position in which we stand. A small ma- 
jority of the citizens of one State in the Union, have elected 
delegates to the State Convention : that Convention has ordain- 
ed, that all the revenue laws of the United States, must be re- 
pealed, or that they are no longer a member of the Union. The 
Governor of that State has recommended to the Legislature the 
raising of an army to carry the secession into effect, and that he 
may be empowered to give clearances to vessels in the name of 
the State. No act of violent opposition to the laws has yet 
been committed ; but such a state of things is hourly appre- 
hended, and it is the intent of this instrument to proclaim not 
only that the duty imposed on me by the Constitution, " to take 
care that the laws be faithfully executed," shall be performed to 
the extent of the power vested in me by law, or of such others 
as the wisdom of Congress shall devise and entrust to me for 
that purpose ; but, to warn the citizens of South Carolina, who 
have been deluded into an opposition to the laws, of the danger 
they will incur by obedience to the illegal and disorganizing 
Ordinance of the Convention — to exhort those who hdve refused 
to support it, to persevere in their determination lo uphold the 
Constitution and the laws of their country, and to point out to 
all the perilous situation into which the good people of that 
State have been led — and that the course they are urged to pur- 
sue is one of ruin and disgrace to the very State whose rights 
they affect to support. 

Fellow citizens of my native State, let me not only admonish 
you as the first Magistrate of our common country, not to incur 
the penalty of its laws, but use the influence that a father would 
over his children whom he saw rushing to certain ruin. In that 
paternal language, with that paternal feeling, let me tell you, 
my countrymen, that you are deluded by men who are either 
deceived themselves, or wish to deceive you. 



92 

Mark, under what pretences you have been led on to the 
brink of insurrection and treason, on which you stand ! First, 
a diminution of the value of your staple commodity, lowered by 
over-production in other quarters, and the consequent diminu- 
tion in the value of your lands, were the sole effects of the tariff 
laws. The effect of those laws is confessedly injurious, but 
the evil was greatly exaggerated by the unfounded theory you 
were taught to believe, that its burthens were in proportion to 
your exports, not to your consumption of imported articles. 
Your pride was roused by the assertion, that a submission to 
those laws was a state of vassalage, and that resistance to them 
was equal, in patriotic merit, to the opposition our fathers offer- 
ed to the oppressive laws of Great Britain. You were told that 
this opposition might be peaceable — might be constitutionally 
made ; that you might enjoy all the advantages of the Union, 
and bear none of its burthens. 

Eloquent appeals to your passions, to your State pride, to 
your native courage, to your sense of real injury were used to 
prepare you for the period when the mask which concealed the 
hideous features of disunion should be taken off. It fell, and 
you were made to look with complacency on objects which, not 
long since, you would have regarded with horror. Look back 
at the arts which have brought you to this state — look forward 
to the consequences to which it must inevitably lead! Look 
back to what was first told you as an inducement to enter into 
this dangerous course ! The great political truth was repeated 
to you, that you had the revolutionary right of resisting all laws 
that were palpably unconstitutional and intolerably oppressive 
— it was added that the right to nullify a law rested on the same 
principle, but that it was a peaceable remedy. This character 
which was given to it, made you receive, with too much confi- 
dence the assertions that were made of the unconstitutionality 
of the law, and its oppressive effects. Mark, my fellow-citizens? 
that by the admission of your leaders, the unconstitutionality 
must be palpable ; or it will not justify either resistance or nul- 
lification! What is the meaning of the word palpable, in the 
sense in which it is here used ? — that which is apparent to every 
one : that which no man of ordinary intellect will fail to per- 
ceive. Is the unconstitutionality of these laws of that descrip- 



93 

tion? Let those among your leaders who once approved and 
advocated the principle of protective duties, answer the ques- 
tion ; and let them choose whether they will be considered as 
incapable, tlien of perceiving that which must have been appa- 
rent to every man of common understanding, or as imposing 
upon your confidence, and endeavoring to mislead you now. 
In either case, they are unsafe guides in the perilous path they 
urge you to tread. Ponder well on this circumstance, and you 
will know how to appreciate the exaggerated language they ad- 
dress to you. They are not champions of liberty, emulating the 
fame of our Revolutionary Fathers ; nor are you an oppressed 
people, contending, as they repeat to you, against worse than 
colonial vassalage. You are free members of a flourishing and 
happy Union. There is no settled design to oppress you. 

I have urged you to look back to the means that were used 
to hurry you on to the position you have now assumed, and for- 
ward to the consequences it will produce. Something more is 
necessary. Contemplate the condition of that country of which 
you still form an important part ! Consider its government, 
uniting in one bond of common interest and general protection, 
so many different States, giving to all their inhabitants the proud 
title of American citizens, protecting their commerce, securing 
their literature and their arts, facilitating their intercommunica- 
tion, defending their frontiers, and making their name respected 
in the remotest part of the earth ! Consider the extent of its 
territory, its increasing and happy population, its advances in 
arts which render life agreeable, and in the sciences which ele- 
vate the mind ! See education spreading the lights of religion, 
humanity, and general information into every cottage in this 
wide extent of our territories and states. Behold it as the asylum 
where the wretched and the oppressed find a refuge and sup- 
port ! Carolina is one of these proud States : her arms have de- 
fended, her best blood has cemented this happy Union. Look 
on this picture of happiness and honor, and say — we, too, are 
citizens of America ; and then add, if you can, without horror and 
remorse, this happy Union we will dissolve — this picture of 
peace and prosperity we will deface ; this free intercourse we 
will interrupt — these fertile fields we will deluge with blood — 
the protection of that glorious flag we renounce; the very 



94 

name of Americans we discard. And for"what, mistaken men ! 
— for vvliat do you throw away these inestimable blessings — for 
what would you exchange your share in the advantages and 
honor of the Union ? For the dream of a separate independence 
— a dream interrupted by bloody conflict with your neighbors 
and a vile dependence on a foreign power. If your leaders 
could succeed in establishing a separation, what would be your 
situation ? Are you united at home — are you free from the ap- 
prehension of civil discord, with all its fearful consequences ? 
Do our neighboring republics, every day suffering some new 
revolution, or contending with some new insurrection ; do they 
excite your envy .^ But the dictates of a high duty oblige me 
solemnly to announce that you cannot succeed. 

You have indeed felt the unequal operation of laws which 
may have been unwisely, not unconstitutionally passed ; but 
that inequality must necessarily be removed. At the very mo- 
ment when you were madly urged on to the unfortunate course 
you have begun, a change in public opinion had commenced. 
The nearly approaching payment of the public debt, and the 
consequent necessity of a diminution of duties, had already pro- 
duced a considerable reduction, and that too on some articles of 
general consumption in your State. The importance of this 
change was understood, and you were authoritatively told, that 
no further alleviation of your burthen was to be expected, at the 
very time when the condition of the country imperiously de- 
manded such a modification of the duties as should reduce them 
to a just and equitable scale. But, as if apprehensive of the ef- 
fect of this change in allaying your discontents, you were pre- 
cipitated into the fearful state in which you find yourselves. 

The laws of the United States must be executed — I have no 
discretionary power on the subject — my duty is emphatically 
pronounced in the Constitution. Those who told you that you 
might peaceably prevent their execution, deceived you — they 
could not have been deceived themselves. They know that a 
forcible opposition could alone prevent the execution of the 
laws, and they know that such opposition must be repelled. 
Their object is disunion ; but be not deceived by names ; dis- 
union by armed force is treason. Are you really ready to incur 



95 

its guilt? If you are, on the heads of the instigators of the act 
be the dreadful consequences — on their heads be the dishonor, 
but on yours may fall the punishment — on your unhappy State 
will inevitably fall all the evils of the conflict you force upon 
the Government of your country. It cannot accede to the mad 
project of disunion, of which you would be the first victims — its 
first Magistrate cannot, if he would, avoid the performance of his 
duty — the consequences must be fearful for you, distressing to 
your fellow-citizens here, and to the friends of government 
throughout the world. Its enemies have beheld our prosperity 
with a vexation they could not conceal — it was a standing refu- 
tation of their slavish doctrines, and they will point to our dis- 
cord with the triumph of malignant joy. It is yet in your power 
to disappoint them. 

There is yet time to show that the descendants of the Pinck- 
neys, the Sumpters, the Rutledges, and of the thousand other 
names which adorn the pages of your revolutionary history, will 
not abandon that Union, to support which, so many of them 
fought, and bled, and died. I adjure you, as you honor their 
memory ; as you love the cause of freedom, to which they dedi- 
cated their lives, as you prize the peace of your country, the 
lives of its best citizens, and your own fair fame, to retrace your 
steps. Snatch from the archives of your State the disorganizing 
edict of its Convention ; bid its members to re-assemble and 
promulgate the decided expression of your will to remain in 
the path which alone can conduct you to safety, prosperity and 
honor — tell them that compared to disunion all other evils are 
light, because that brings with it an accumulation of all — de- 
clare that you will never take the field unless the star-spangled 
banner of your country shall float over you — that you will not 
be stigmatized when dead, and dishonored and scorned while 
you live, as the authors of the first attack on the Constitution of 
your country ! Its destroyers you cannot be. You may disturb 
its peace — you may interrupt the course of its prosperity — you 
may cloud its reputation for stability — but its tranquillity will be 
restored, its prosperity will return, and the stain upon its nation- 
al character will be transferred, and remain an eternal blot on 
the memory of those who caused the disorder. 



96 

Fellow citizens of the United States ! The threat of unhal- 
lowed disunion — the names of those, once respected, by whom 
it is uttered — the array of military force to support it — denotes 
the approach of a crisis in our affairs on which the continuance 
of our unexampled prosperity, our political existence, and per- 
haps that of all free government, may depend. The conjunc- 
ture demanded a free, a full and explicit enunciation, not only of 
my intentions, but of my principles of action ; and as the claim 
was asserted of a right by a State to annul the laws of the Union, 
and even to secede from it at pleasure, a frank exposition of my 
opinions in relation to the origin and form of our government, 
and the construction I give to the instrument by which it was 
created, seemed to be proper. Having the fullest confidence in 
the justness of the legal and constitutional opinion of my duties, 
which has been expressed, I rely with equal confidence on your 
undivided support in my determination to execute the laws ; to 
preserve the Union by all Constitutional means ; to arrest, if 
possible, by moderate but firm measures, the necessity of a re- 
course to force ; and if it be the will of Heaven that the recur- 
rence of its primeval curse on man for the shedding of a brother's 
blood, should fall upon our land, that it be not called down by 
any offensive act on the part of the United States. 

Fellow citizens ! The momentous case is before you. On 
your undivided support of your Government, depends the decis- 
ion of the great question it involves, whether your sacred 
Union will be preserved, and the blessings it secures to us as 
one people, shall be perpetuated. No one can doubt that the 
unanimity with which that decision will be expressed, will be 
such as to inspire new confidence in republican institutions ; and 
that the prudence, the wisdom, and the courage which it will 
bring to their defence, will transmit them unimpaired and in- 
vigorated to our children. 

May the Great Ruler of nations grant that the signal blessings 
with which he has favored ours, may not, by the madness of 
party or personal ambition, be disregarded and lost; and may 
His wise Providence bring those who have produced this crisis, 
to see their folly, before they feel the misery of civil strife ; and 
inspire a returning veneration for that Union, which, if we dare 



97 

to penetrate His designs, He has chosen as the only means of 
attaining the high destinies to which we may reasonably aspire. 

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Seal of the United 
States to be hereunto affixed, having signed the same with 
my hand. 

Done at the City of Washington, this 10th day of December, in 
the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
two, and of the independence of the United States, the fifty- 
seventh. 

By the President. 

ANDREW JACKSON. 
EDW. LIVINGSTON, 

Secretary of State. 



14 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



WEW HAMPSHIKE. 



state of mto jeainnsijite. 



Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in General 
Court convened, That the sentiments contained in the Proclama- 
tion of the President of the United States, dated December 10, 
1832, meet with the entire approbation of this Legislature ; and 
that we hail in those sentiments, and in the general measures of 
his administration, and particularly in the salutary exercise of 
his Veto, a Chief Executive Magistrate, whose devoted patriot- 
ism and moral courage are equal to any crisis, and under the 
guidance of whose wisdom the ancient landmarks of the Consti- 
tution will be preserved, and the confidence reposed in him, as 
manifested in his recent election by a vast majority of the Ameri- 
can people, will be fully justified. 

Jlnd resolved further, That the Secretary of State be directed 
to transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the 
United States, and to each of our Delegates in Congress, and 
the Governor of each State in the Union. 

FRANKLIN PIERCE, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

BENNING M. BEAN, 

President of the Senate. 

[A true copy.] 

RALPH METCALF, Secretary of State. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



M A I ]V E . 



SiUtt of M^int. 



In Senate, February 1, 1833. 

The Joint Select Committee, to which was referred so much of 
the Governor's Message as relates to the difficulties existing 
between South Carolina and the General Government, and 
the Documents from South Carolina, and several ether States, 
upon the same subject, have had the same under considera- 
tion, and 

REPORT : 

That they have given their anxious and serious attention to 
the several documents referred to their consideration ; all of 
which have grown out of the unhappy controversy now subsist- 
ing between South Carolina and the General Government. 
Most, if not all of them, contain speculative views of the nature 
and objects of our political system. In the several communica- 
tions, there is observable a wide diversity of sentiment ; and in 
some, especially those from South Carolina, the conclusions 
adopted are made the subjects of a very extended and elaborate 
argument. To review and compare with each other the several 
opinions and doctrines set forth in these several communica- 
tions, to examine fully the various arguments and objections 
which they oppose to each other, and to investigate what, if any, 
errors of fact, of principle, or of reasoning, may be contained in 
any, or all of them, would seem to be a task of great labor, and 
one not likely, perhaps, to result in any corresponding benefit. 

This State, on two occasions, has heretofore expressed her 
opinion upon the subject of Federal Relations. It is believed, 
15 



106 

that the Report and Resolutions of 1S27, relative to Internal 
Improvements, and the Report and Resolutions of 1831, upon 
the same subject, contain a general outline of the sentiments of 
Maine, as regards the origin and purposes of our political sys- 
tem, the powers conferred upon the General Government by the 
Constitution, and the rights reserved to the People and the 
States. As a declaration of our principles and opinions, as to 
the relative powers and duties of the General Government and 
the several State Governments, we deem it unnecessary, there- 
fore, at the present time, to do more than simply refer to the 
several Reports and Resolutions above alluded to. 

Without entering into the discussion of political theories, we 
have chosen rather to take a practical view of the unhappy diffi- 
culties which agitate the public tranquillity, and alarm the pub- 
lic mind. Viewing with the deepest feelings of regret, the 
excitement which pervades our sister State, and the rash and 
presumptuous measures to which it has led, and deprecating 
those measures as utterly inconsistent with the spirit of forbear- 
ance and compromise in which our Union had its origin, and 
by a perseverance in which it can alone be maintained, we can- 
not, at the same time, forget that this excitement, this disturb- 
ance of the public tranquillity, and all the dangers which this 
unnatural controversy threatens to bring upon the country, have 
for their origin and moving cause the policy of the protective 
system. Under this aspect of public affairs, it has seemed to 
your Committee the more useful course to respectfully inter- 
pose the voice of this State for conciliation and forbearance. 
There are none among us who would justify the untimely and 
ruinous resistance which South Carolina threatens against the 
existing laws of the United States, of whose injustice she com- 
plains. On the otiier hand, a large majority of the citizens of 
Maine ever have entertained — they still entertain the most un- 
doubting convictions of the impolicy and oppression of high 
protecting duties. 

Under these circumstances, and with these views, the Com- 
mittee submit the following Resolves. 

J. WILLIAMSON, Chamnan. 



RESOLVES 



Resolved, That, we are not insensible to the wrongs and suffer- 
ings of our brethren of South Carolina, under the unjust and 
oppressive burdens imposed upon them by the Tariffs of high 
protective duties. But while we deplore their grievances, and 
are ready to unite with them in any and every peaceful and 
lawful mode of redress, we cannot, nor will we give our coun- 
tenance or support to their projected scheme for relief We 
regard nullification as neither a safe, peaceable, or constitu- 
tional remedy, but as unsound and dangerous in theory and in 
practice, tending directly to civil commotion, disunion, and an- 
archy. We implore them to pause in their precipitate career, 
to suspend their rash and revolutionary measures, and trust to 
that redeeming spirit of justice which is a ruling characteristic 
of the American people. 

Resolved, That the acts of Congress, usually denominated 
Tarifi' laws, so far as they were passed palpably and solely for 
the purpose of protecting and fostering particular branches ol 
industry, are unequal in their operation, and contrary to the 
spirit, true intent, and meaning of the Federal Compact. 

Resolved, That it is due to a spirit of mutual conciliation, to 
the demands of justice, to a decent respect for the opinions and 
interests of large portions of the community, and absolutely 
necessary to the preservation of the Union, that the Tariff laws 
should be gradually (but speedily) abated to the imposition of 
such duties only as are required for the purpose of a revenue 
sufficient to defray the ordinary expenses of the General Gov- 
ernment, confined to its appropriate objects, and economically 
administered. 

Resolved, That we heartily approve the policy and measures 
of President Jackson's administration, and in the present diffi- 
cult and threatening aspect of public affairs, we look with con- 
fidence to the patriotism, vigilance, and firmness of our Chief 



108 

Magistrate, as sure pledges that all his efforts will be directed 
to preserve unimpaired the union, happiness, and glory of our 
Republic. 

Resolved, That the patriotic spirit and tone of the President's 
recent Proclamation, relating to the extraordinary proceedings 
of South Carolina, meet our warmest approbation ; and we ap- 
prove of the principles and policy avowed therein, as expound- 
ed, not in accordance with the federal doctrine of consolidation, 
but with the democratic doctrine of State rights, and a limita- 
tion of action of the Federal Government to the powers ex- 
pressly delegated to it by the Constitution, and in accordance 
with the several messages of President Jackson, to Congress, 
and the uniform tenor of the acts of his administration ; and in 
support of all constitutional measures adopted by him to pre- 
serve the Union, we tender him our undivided support. 

Resolved, That the Secretary of State be, and hereby is direct- 
ed to transmit a copy of these Resolves, with the Preamble, to 
each of the Representatives in Congress from this State. 

Resolved, That the Governor be, and hereby is requested to 
transmit a copy of these Resolves, with the Preamble to the 
Executive of each of the other States of this Union, and the 
President of the Senate of the United States. 

In the House of Representatives, February 18, 1833. 
Read and passed. 

NATHAN CLIFFORD, Speaker. 

In Senate, February 19, 1833. 
Read and passed. 

FRANCIS O. J. SMITH, President. 

February 20, 1 833. 

Approved. 

SAMUEL E. SMITH, Governor. 

[A true copy.] 

Auest:— R. G. GREENE, Secretary of State. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



MASSACHUSETTS^ 



CommonlDealtlj of jMa^isaclittsett.^. 



House of Representatives, January 9, 1833. 

Ordered, That Messrs. Crowninshield, o[ Boston, 
" Shaw, of hanesborough, 
" Lincoln, of Worcester, 
" Holmes, of i?ocAe5^er, and 
" Robinson, oi Marble head, 
with such as the Senate may join, be a Committee to consider 
so much of the Governor's Address as relates to the proceedings 
of the late Convention of the people of South Carolina, and the 
purposes and policy thereof, and also the Resolutions of the 
State of Pennsylvania thereon : Sent up for concurrence. 

L. S. CUSHING, Clerk. 



In Senate, January 10th, 1833. 

Concurred, and Messrs. Everett, Hoar, Barton and Burnell 
are joined. 

Attest, CHAS. CALHOUN, Clerk. 



orommontoealtli of JBassacftusetts. 



Jn Senate, February 15, 1833. 

The Joint Select Committee, appointed to consider so much of 
the Governor's Address as relates to the proceedings of the 
late Convention of the people of South Carolina, and the pur- 
poses and policy thereof: and to whom have been referred 
Resolutions of the States of Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, 
Illinois, North Carolina and Delaware upon that subject, have 
attended to the duty assigned them, and beg leave to submit 
the following 

REPORT : 

In the partial Report which they have already submitted, the 
Committee have stated in general terms the character of the 
proceedings of the late Convention of the people of South Car- 
olina; and the subject is now so familiar to the public, that it 
does not seem necessary to enter very fully into a recapitulation 
of facts. It is generally known that this Convention, which ap- 
pears to have been assembled agreeably to the forms prescribed 
by the Constitution of the State, met at Columbia on the 22d of 
last November : — that almost immediately after, and with very 
little deliberation, it proceeded to pass an Act, denominated an 
Ordinance, declaring null and void all the laws of the United 
States which impose duties upon the importation of foreign 
goods, particularly those of the 19th of May, 1S2S, and the 14th 
of June, 1S32; prohibiting the execution of them within the 
State of South Carolina, and making it the duty of the Legisla- 
ture to pass such laws as should be necessary to give full cifoct 



113 

to the Ordinance, and to prevent the enforcement and arrest the 
execution of the laws aforesaid : — that the Legislature, at a ses- 
sion subsequent to the meeting of this Convention, has in fact 
passed certain laws for these purposes, which were to go into 
operation on the first day of this month, and which, if executed, 
must bring the constituted authorities of the United States and 
of South Carolina, into open collision. 

The papers in the hands of the Committee include a printed 
copy of this Ordinance of the Convention, transmitted by its 
order to His Excellency the Governor, and also printed copies 
of a long report of the committee which drafted the Ordinance, 
and of addresses in the name of the Convention to the people of 
the United States and of South Carolina. These documents un- 
dertake to justify the proceedings of the Convention, on the 
ground that the duties on the importation of foreign goods were 
laid, in part at least, for the purpose of protecting domestic indus- 
try : that the General Government is not invested by the Consti- 
tution with the power of laying duties for this purpose, and that, 
whenever the General Government assumes powers which, in the 
opinion of any one of the States, are not given to it by the Con- 
stitution, the State which entertains this opinion may, without 
violating the Constitution, declare the act by which the power 
so assumed has been exercised, null and void, and prevent the 
execution of it within its limits. It also appears to have been 
supposed by the Convention, that, on the adoption of such 
measures by any one State, it would become the duty of the 
General Government to suspend the execution of the law com- 
plained of, at least within the limits of the complaining State, 
and to apply to the people in the form prescribed for amending 
the Constitution, for a grant of the power supposed to have been 
unconstitutionally assumed : — that, if the power should on this 
application be refused by the people, it would be the duty of 
the General Government definitively to repeal the law by which 
it had been exercised, and that if, on the contrary, it should be 
granted, it would then become the duty of the complaining 
State to acquiesce. There seems, however, to be some uncer- 
tainty in the views of this part of the subject entertained by that 
portion of the citizens of South Carolina upon whom the respon- 
sibility for the semeasures rests : as the Legislature of the State, 
16 



114 

instead of leaving it to the General Government to propose to 
the people in the form prescribed for amending the Constitution 
a grant of the power of laying duties upon the importation of 
foreign goods, have themselves, at their late session, passed res- 
olutions, proposing to the other States to hold a Convention for 
the purpose of settling this and other questions which they con- 
sider as doubtful. 

It is affirmed, in these addresses and reports, that the laws of 
the United States, imposing duties upon the importation of 
foreign goods, thus declared to be null and void, are exceedingly 
burthensome and oppressive to the people of South Carolina. — 
This proposition is not made out by the statement of any facts 
which tend to prove the existence of actual distress; and it is 
remarkable that the Governor of South Carolina, in his address 
to the Legislature, at the opening of their late session, congrat- 
ulates them upon the extraordinary prosperity of the State. The 
Convention attempt to maintain their assertion of the ruinous 
tendency of the impost laws, by laying down certain abstract 
principles in political economy, which are very paradoxical, and 
as the Committee believe, entirely erroneous. It is unnecessary, 
however, for the purpose of the present report, to enter upon a 
particular examination of these doctrines, because the justifica- 
tion of the proceedings of South Carolina does not, after all, de- 
pend in any degree upon the question of their truth or falsehood. 
Whatever may be the real operation of the impost laws upon the 
peculiar interests of that State, — were it as unfavorable as the 
Committee believe it to be beneficial and salutary, it is admitted 
that the State would have no right to seek redress in the form in 
which it is now sought, unless the enactment of these laws in- 
volve an assumption by the General Government of powers not 
granted by the Constitution. No abuse of constitutional power, 
however glaring and intolerable, would on the theory of the 
Convention, justify a resort to nullification. 

The question of the real operation of the impost laws upon the 
prosperity of South Carolina, may therefore be laid entirely out 
of the case. Nor, although the justification of the proceedings 
of the Convention is to be sought, on the ground taken by that 
body, in the supposed unconstitutional character of these laws, 
do the Committee deem it important for the present purpose to 



115 

inquire particularly how far this supposition is well founded. 
Entertaining, themselves, no doubt whatever, that the power of 
laying duties on imported foreign goods, with a view to any ap- 
propriation of them which, in the discretion of the Government, 
may be required by the common defence and general welfare, is 
given by the Constitution, the Committee are also persuaded, that 
were this a doubtful point, or were it even conceded that the 
General Government has no such power, the proceedings of 
South Carolina would not, on that account, be any the more de- 
fensible. The objection to them is, that they propose an uncon- 
stitutional and illegal method of obtaining relief from a supposed 
political grievance. It is therefore unnecessary to inquire, 
whether this grievance be real or imaginary, since the objec- 
tion, if substantiated, is equally valid in either contingency. 

Omitting, therefore, any consideration of the expediency or 
constitutionality of the laws imposing duties on imported for- 
eign goods, the Committee will confine themselves to the single 
inquiry, how far the proceedings of the Convention of South 
Carolina are consistent with the Constitution and Laws of the 
Country .'* Even in this restricted shape, the subject is far too 
extensive to be examined, in a full and satisfactory manner, 
within the limits assigned by usage to a document of this kind. 
The Committee can only undertake to present a few of the 
considerations that bear most strongly and obviously upon the 
leading points of the argument. 

The suggestion that would probably first occur to an impar- 
tial mind, on examining the account of these proceedings, is the 
apparent want of consistency and precision in the reasoning and 
conduct of the Convention, admitting even the correctness of 
the general principles on which they profess to act. It would 
be natural to expect, that in a case of so novel a character, and 
of such extraordinary interest and importance, every step would 
be carefully guarded, and no conclusions drawn, which did not 
follow, in the strictest manner, from their supposed premises. 
This, however, is far from being the case. The Committee have 
already remarked the difference between the theories of the 
Convention and the Legislature, as to the second step in the 
process of nullification. While the Convention appear to sup- 
pose that after a State has annulled an act of Congress, it be- 



116 

comes the duty of the General Government to apply to the 
States for a grant of the disputed power, the Legislature have 
addressed themselves directly to the States, and proposed a Con- 
vention. The want of consistency in the texture of the Ordi- 
nance, is not less apparent. The whole reasoning of that act, 
and the accompanying papers, supposes that the right of a State 
to annul an act of Congress, can only exist in the case of an as- 
sumption by that body, of powers not delegated by the Consti- 
tution ; and for the purpose of bringing the impost laws within 
this rule, the Convention attempt, at great length, to prove that 
they do, in fact, involve such an assumption. Thus far their 
conduct, if not justifiable, is consistent ; but after first annulling 
the Tariff laws, the Convention proceed, in open defiance of 
their own rules and reasoning, to annul an important provision 
of another law, which has never been regarded by any one as 
unconstitutional, and which the Convention themselves do not 
even pretend to represent as being so. While the Judiciary 
law gives the right of appeal from the State Courts to the 
United States, in all cases involving any question of the validity 
of an act or Congress, the Ordinance prohibits any such appeal 
in all cases involving any question of the validity of the acts of 
Congress which it professes to annul. This is done without 
even the ceremony of affirming, or attempting to prove, that 
this provision of the Judiciary act involves an assumption of 
power not delegated by the Constitution. 

This feature in the Ordinance renders it, perhaps, in some 
degree, superfluous to examine the reasoning by which the Con- 
vention undertake to justify its leading provisions. If they can 
venture to annul one act of Congress, without even pretending 
to assert that it is unconstitutional, it is not easy to see why they 
should be at so much pains to make this out, in regard to an- 
other, before they subject it to the same process : nor does it 
seem to be very necessary to inquire, how far they succeed in 
establishing this proposition, when their proceedings so clearly 
shew, tliat if be necessary to their argument, it is in no way 
necessary to their action. But without enlarging upon this con- 
sideration, the Committee will proceed to examine, very con- 
cisely, the nature of the reasoning by which the Convention 
undertake to prove, that any one State has a right to annul an 



117 

act of Congress, which, in the opinion of such State, involves an 
assumption of power not delegated by the Constitution. The 
substance of the argument is understood to be as follows : 

The Constitution is a compcct between the States, which 
were, at the time of forming it, and are now distinct communi- 
ties, politically independent of each other. It confers, on the 
General Government, certain specific powers, and the assump- 
tion by that Government of any power not so delegated, is a 
breach of the compact. But in this, as in all other cases of 
compacts or treaties between independent States, a breach of 
the compact by one party, exempts the rest from the obligation 
they were under to observe it ; and each is, of course, the only 
judge for itself, vyhether the compact is or is not observed. 

Or, in still more concise language : 

The States were independent of each other at the time when 
they formed the Constitution ; therefore they are independent 
of each other now. 

This argument appears to the Committee to be defective in 
both its parts. It is far from being a settl^and acknowledged 
point, that the States can fairly be consicSsred as having been 
absolutely independent of each other at the time when the pre- 
sent Constitution was formed; and if this were even admitted, 
it would by no means follow, that they possess, and may exer- 
cise under the Constitution, and consistently with it, the rights 
belonging to mutually and absolutely independent States. 

1. It is far from being a settled point, that the States can 
fairly be considered as having been absolutely independent of 
each other at the time when the Constitution was formed and 
adopted. It is well known, that this is a question upon which 
the ablest statesmen, and purest patriots in the country have 
differed, and at this moment continue to differ, in opinion. The 
President of the United States, in his late Proclamation upon 
the subject of the proceedings of South Carolina, expressed his 
belief, that the Acts of the Union which preceded the Declara- 
tion of Independence, had combined ihe States into ONE PEO- 
PLE, and that it was in their joint capacity as such, that they 
formed the Constitution. His predecessor has publicly pro- 
fessed the same sentiment. On the other hand. Presidents Jef- 
ferson and Madison, with various other citizens of the highest 



118 

respectability, many of whom had concurred in the forming of 
the Constitution, consider the States as having been, from the 
time of the Declaration of Independence, until the adoption of 
the Constitution, distinct communities, entirely independent of 
each other. 

This diversity of views, among individuals of equal talent and 
unsuspected integrity, will not appear very extraordinary, when 
it is recollected that during the period in question, the country 
was in a revolutionary state. Its condition was analogous to 
that of England during the interval between the overthrow of 
the arbitrary government of the Stuarts, and the settlement of 
the Constitution in 1688; or that of France, between the de- 
struction of the old monarchy in 1789, and the final sanction of 
the present charter, after the three great days of July 1830. In 
both the cases alluded to, it is well known, that political institu- 
tions, of various and opposite characters, rapidly succeeded each 
other, and that neither country could be said, with propriety, to 
settled government. They were in a state 
form of political existence to another, and 
the condition of the United States from 
^dependence until the adoption of the Con- 
stitution. It was not only a natural, but, as the Committee con- 
ceive, a necessary result of this condition, that political events 
of different and even contradictory characters, should success- 
ively occur, and that individuals, as they have been led, by cir- 
cumstances, to attach greater or less importance to one or an- 
other of these events, should draw different conclusions as the 
existing forms of government. On the one hand, the States 
acted, for many purposes, as distinct communities, claiming to 
be politically independent of each other; while, on the other 
hand, they organized a Union among themselves, with a Con- 
gress of Delegates at the head of it, who exercised most of the 
powers of a General Government. It would, perhaps, be diffi- 
cult to reconcile all the acts and powers of Congress and the 
State Governments at that time, with any consistent and precise 
political theory ; and the failure of the experiment tends to con- 
firm the opinion, that the elements which entered into the struc- 
ture of the old confederacy, were incoherent and self-contra- 
dictory. The Committee are inclined to believe, as they have 




119 

already remarked, that the future historian will consider the 
whole period in question as a revolutionary one, and the form 
of the government as unsettled and fluctuating, until it was final- 
ly fixed, for the first time, by the adoption of the present Con- 
stitution. 

2. But the Committee deem it unnecessary to dwell upon this 
point, since, were it even admitted that the States, at the time 
when they formed the Constitution, were distinct communities, 
politically independent of each other, it would by no means fol- 
low, as the Convention of South Carolina appear to suppose, 
that they are still in tliA condition, and that the Union is a 
League or Confederacy oi mutually and absolutely independent 
States. The rights and obligations of the parties to a contract, 
are determined by its nature and terms, and not by their condi- 
tion previously to its conclusion. As respects the latter point, 
the only question is, were the parties legally, or in cases when 
they are not subject to a Common Government, morally capable 
of making such a contract? If this question be answered in the 
affirmative, the previous condition of the ™rties, in other re- 
spects, is immaterial ; and in order to ascertain to what the con- 
tract binds them, we have only to inquire what the contract is. 

Now there can be no doubt, that independent States are mor- 
ally as capable of forming themselves into a body politic, as in- 
dependent individuals. A great proportion of the political so- 
cieties which now exist, or of which we know the history, were 
constituted in this way. Hence, were it even admitted, that the 
States were distinct and independent communities at the time 
when they framed the Constitution, the fact would no more 
prove, that they are distinct and independent communities now, 
than the fact that the two parties to a contract of marriage were 
single before its conclusion goes to prove that they are single 
afterwards. If the States were, at the time when they framed 
the Constitution, as there cannot be a doubt, morally capable 
of forming a contract, involving the entire surrender of their po- 
litical independence, it is quite apparent that, in order to ascertain 
their rights and obligations under the Constitution, we have to 
look exclusively to the nature and terms of that instrument, 
without regard to the mutual relations of the parties before they 
made it. 



120 

Reposing mainly, as has been said, for the justification of 
their proceedings, upon the argument that the States were in- 
dependent at the time when the Constitution was adopted, and 
must therefore of course be independent now, the Convention 
has in a great measure lost sight of the course of reasoning 
which is proper to the subject, and have made but little eftbrt 
to establish their doctrines, by reference either to the general 
nature of the Constitution, or to its specific provisions. Some 
considerations appertaining to this branch of the inquiry, are 
however to be found in their publications, and to them the 
Committee will now very briefly direcwtheir attention. 

Of these considerations the most important is, that the Gene- 
ral Government, created by the Constitution of the United 
States, is a Government invested with specific and limited pow- 
ers, having no general and indefinite powers, excepting such as 
are necessary to carry the specified ones into effect, and that the 
powers not conferred upon the General Government are reserved 
to the States. Thi^s, no doubt, true in fact : but that it was not 
intended in makin^this arrangement, to maintain the States in 
possession of an absolute political independence, with a right of 
judging for themselves when the General Government exceeds 
its powers, and annulling any acts involving such excess, is ap- 
parent, as well from other particular provisions of the Constitu- 
tion, as from the general scope and purpose of that instrument. 

1. In all cases the general purpose of a contract is one of the 
most important elements to be taken into view in ascertaining 
the rights and obligations resulting from it, because the general 
purpose controls, to a certain extent, the construction of all the 
particular provisions. It would be absurd to interpret any par- 
ticular part of an instrument in such a way as would suppose in 
the parties an intention manifestly contrary to the general ob- 
ject of the whole ; as for example, to interpret one of the clauses 
in a contract of marriage in such a way as would suppose that 
it was the intention of the parties to remain single. Now it is 
quite apparent from the general scope and purpose of the Con- 
stitution of the United States, that it was not the intention of 
the parties who framed it, whether considered in their joint or 
individual capacity, to retain the character of absolute political 
independence. It is one of that class of agreements commonly 



121 

denominated social compacts, the principal object of which is 
to combine the parties forming them into one body politic, or 
political society, under a common Government. This is appa- 
rent on the face of the instrument. *We, the people of the 
United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish 
justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common de- 
fence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America.' That such is^the 
general scope of the instrument is not contested by the warmest 
advocates of the doctrines maintained by the Convention of South 
Carolina. But the precise pbject which the parties to a social 
compact have in, view in forming themselves into one political 
society, is to terminate the relation of mutual independence 
which previously existed between them. If the contract con- 
tained a clause providing that the parties should retain their 
political independence, it would be self-contradictory ; and to 
interpret a doubtful passage or particular provision in such a 
a way as to attribute to the parties such an intention, would, as 
the Committee have remarked, involve the same absurdity as to 
interpret a clause in a marriage contract on the supposition that 
the parties intended to remain single. It is of the essence of a 
social compact or Constitution of Government, that the part.es 
to it surrender their absolute political independence, and be- 
come members of a society whose will is admitted to be the 
common law. To declare this will, agreeably to the forms pre- 
scribed in the Constitution, — in other words, to make and alter 
the laws as occasion may require, is the office of the Govern- 
ment. No individual or other member of the body politic can 
possibly as such, exercise the power of making or annulling the 
laws, for the obvious reason that laws derive their character as 
such, from being the acts of the Government, and that if an in- 
dividual, or other member of the body politic, should succeed in 
giving to his own will the force of law, that is, in compelling 
the society to obey it, he would at the same time cease to be a 
citizen, and would concentrate in his own hands the Govern- 
ment of the country. In some extreme cases of intolerable op- 
pression, the individual and other members of the body politic 
are justifiable in forcibly opposing the execution of the law ; but 
17 



122 

even in these cases there is no claim of any constitutional or 
legal right to repeal or annul it. The claim is to resist, in the 
exercise of the natural and inalienable right of self defence, the 
execution of what is admitted at the time to be, in form, at least, 
a law. 

2. The general scope and objects of the Constitution pre- 
clude therefore the idea that it was the intention of the parties 
to it to retain their absolute political independence, or that 
they possess any right under it to annul the acts of the General 
Government. The same conclusions result with equal certainty 
from a view of its particular provisions. Had it been intended 
that the States should possess the important power of annulling 
or repealing at discretion the acts -of the General Government, 
this power would undoubtedly have been given to them in ex- 
press terms. It is not even pretended that the Constitution con- 
tains any such express concession. Not only is there no express 
concession to this effect, but the idea that any thing of the kind 
was intended, is precluded by several provisions of an opposite 
character. The Constitution gives to the Supreme Court cog- 
nizance of all cases arising under the Constitution, and the laws 
and treaties made under the authority of the United States. — 
This involves the right of deciding, in the last resort, whether 
a law is constitutional, which the Carolina doctrine claims for 
the States. The Convention have accordingly found themselves 
under the necessity of annulling the section of the judiciary act 
by which provision was made for carrying this clause of the 
Constitution into effect without even pretending that it was un- 
constitutional. Again : ' This Constitution, and the laws and 
treaties made in pursuance of it, are the Supreme Law of the 
land, any thing in the Constitution and laws of any State to the 
contrary notwithstanding.' By this provision, any act of a State? 
whether performed in its sovereign or legislative capacity, pre- 
tending to annul an act of the General Government, is declared 
in advance to be null and void. As respects the pretention 
that the States retain under the Constitution their absolute po- 
litical independence, it may be remarked that, were there no 
other objection to the doctrine, it would be satisfactorily refu- 
ted by the clause which regulates the form of making amend- 
ments. It is there provided that any amendment of the Con- 



123 

stitution which may be proposed by two thirds of both Houses 
of Congress, and ratified by three fourths of the States, shall be 
binding on the rest. It is hardly necessary to add, that a com- 
munity which is not only bound to obey laws which t.venty 
three other communities have a common agency in making, but 
which is bound to acquiesce in any changes in the form of the 
common Government that may be proposed by a certain number 
of these other communities, can have no claim to the character 
of absolute independence. 

It is apparent therefore, as well from the general objects of 
the Constitution as from the tenor of its particular provisions, 
that it was not the intention of the parties who formed it to re- 
tain their entire independence, or to exercise the power of an- 
nulling the acts of the General Government created by it. The 
fact that the Government is invested with specific and not indefi- 
nite powers, has no tendency to prove the existence of such an 
intention, and has in fact no bearing at all upon the subject. 
The question at issue is, how much power the body politic of the 
United States of America possesses over the individual States 
of which it is composed. To the decision of this question, it is 
obviously quite immaterial whether the powers attributed by 
the Constitution to the General Government, are definite or in- 
definite. These are exercised upon the individual citizen, and 
not upon the States, and neither their extent, nor the mode in 
which they are determined, can have any effect in settling the 
mutual relations between the States and the United States of 
America. The powers of all Governments are prescribed and 
limited, if not by written instruments, at least by usage and by 
the moral law. When they transgress the limits prescribed for 
them, the people cure the evil either by a change in the admin- 
istration effected in consistency with the forms of the Constitu- 
tion, or if the case be extreme, by recurring to the natural right 
of violent resistance to the law. When the powers of the Gov- 
ernment are defined by a written instrument, an attempt at 
usurpation is more likely to be distinctly seen and promptly at- 
tended to. But no new remedy is created, and in this, as in all 
other cases, the people must tolerate the existence of the evil 
until it can be removed by the silent efficacy of the ballot-box. 



124 

or must recur at once to forcible resistance. There is, and can 
be in the nature of things, no middle path between these two 
courses. Every attempt to prevent by force, the execution of 
the laws, — by whatever name it may be called, — is, in its na- 
ture, revolutionary, and can only be defended by such consid- 
erations as would justify an act of rebellion. 

On the whole, the Committee have been led to conclude from 
the best consideration which they have been able to give to the 
subject, that the right claimed by South Carolina, for the sev- 
eral States, of annulling at discretion any act of the General 
Government which they may deem unconstitutional, has no 
foundation in the letter or spirit of the Constitution. Nor is it 
countenanced in any degree by the m-actice under that instru- 
ment. For nearly half a century, during which the Government 
has been in operation, no case has occurred of an attempt by a 
St te to annul one of its acts, althougn serious discontents have 
from time to time existed in different quarters, which would pro- 
bably have led to the adoption of such a course had it been 
recognized by public opinion as constitutional. The only au- 
thority of a practical kind which has ever been adduced in sup- 
port of it, io that of certain Resolutions adopted by the State 
Legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky, in 1798 — 9. Were it 
admitted that these Resolutions go the full length of the Caro- 
lina doctrine, thsy would still afford no actual precedent, and 
could only be regarded as an expression of the opinion tempo- 
rarily prevailing in the Legislatures of these two States, but 
never even by them reduced to practice. These celebrated 
Resolutions have however been recently explained in reference 
to this very question, by the distinguished Statesman who draft- 
ed one set of them, and was at the time the confidential friend 
and political associate of the author of the other, to intend 
notning more than an assertion, in strong terms, of the univer- 
sally acknowledged right of constitutional opposition to mea- 
sures regarded as oppressive, and in extreme cases, of forcible 
resistance. This explanation of his own intentions, and those 
of his immediate political friends, of course settles the construc- 
tion to ho. put upon tl >se Resolutions, and removes the only 
shadow of practical authority and precedent, that has ever been 
claimed by the advocates of the doctrine of Nullification. 



125 

As this doctrine receives no countenance from the theory of 
the Constitution, or the practice under it, it is the less necessary 
to dwell upon its practical tendency, a topic which would afford 
very strong corroborating arguments against it, if, as a strict 
question of right, it could be considered as doubtful. It hardly 
requires any argument to shew that the exercise, by each of the 
twenty-four States, of a right to annul, at discretion, any act of 
the General Government which they might deem unconstitu- 
tional, is wholly incompatible with a consistent and settled ad- 
ministration of the public affairs. Any law which might be sup- 
posed, correctly or not, to operate with peculiar hardship upon 
a particular State, would naturally appear, under the excite- 
ment of the moment, to b^ unconstitutional ; and as, in a com- 
munity so vast as ours, there can hardly ever be a time when there 
is not some law which, for some reason, is particularly offensive 
to some one State, the process of nullification, if once recog- 
nized, would be constantly going on in one quarter or another. 
Every new attempt of the kind would shake the Government to 
its foundations, and it would not probably require the occur- 
rence of many to reduce our happy Union to a state of dissolu- 
tion, more complete and hopeless than even that of the Old 
Confederacy. The Committee refrain from enlarging upon 
these results, the necessity of which is, however, apparent, to 
the most superficial observation. The question is argued by 
Carolina, chiefly as one of mere right; and the answer on that 
ground only, is, in the opinion of the Committee, so clearly 
against her, that it would be needless to attempt to sustain it by 
any considerations of mere expediency. 

With this view of the subject referred to them, and under a 
conviction that it is proper and expedient that the opinion of 
the General Court of this Commonwealth should be distinctly 
expressed upon it, the Committee respectfully submit the ac- 
companying Resolves, which embody the most important prin- 
ciples that have now been suggested. 

The Committee have felt a very deep regret at finding them- 
selves called upon to express opinions unfavorable to the pro- 
ceedings of a State so distinguished in the annals of the country, 
a«d so remarkable for the lofty and generous character of its 
sons as that of South Carolina. In so doing, they would not be 



126 

understood to impeach the motives by which the State has been 
governed, or to intimate that it has been actuated by any other 
purpose, than that of procuring relief from a supposed grievance. 
The Committee are well aware, that the purest patriots and 
wisest statesmen may be led, under the influence of mistaken 
views and excited feelings, into very dangerous measures. The 
present proceedings in South Carolina are, in their opinion, of 
that description. But the Committee indulge a confident hope, 
that by the exercise of the necessary firmness and discretion, on 
the part of the General Government, the danger may be averted, 
and that South Carolina herself, recovering from the delusion 
under which, for some time past she has appeared to labor, may 
continue to maintain her accustomed place among the most en- 
lightened and patriotic States in the 'Union. 

Before concluding their Report, the Committee deem it a duty 
to themselves and to the Legislature, to advert very briefly to 
some remarks which'have been made upon the tendency of the 
Tvesolves accompanymg their former Report, and adopted by 
the almost unanimous vote of both branches of the General 
Court. In certain quarters of high respectability, where the 
Resolves have been brought under discussion, it has been inti- 
mated that they favor the doctrine of Nullification, because they 
express the sentiment that the Legislature is not bound, silently, 
to acquiesce in measures considered by them as subversive of 
the spirit of the Constitution ; and this in the way of instruction 
to the delegation of the Commonwealth in Congress, for the pur- 
pose of preventing the adoption of these measures. The diflfer- 
ence between a proceeding of this kind, and an attempt to annul 
and prevent the execution of existing laws, is too obvious to be 
overlooked. That the General Government may adopt an un- 
constitutional measure, is of course possible ; and no one can 
doubt that any portion of the people have a right, in an orderly 
and peaceable manner, to express their opinion upon the charac- 
ter of any of the measures of the General Government. But 
when this is done in advance, for the purpose not of denouncing 
an existing law, but of preventing a threatened mischief, it is 
not easy to see how the most fastidious judge can find any thing 
at which to take oflence. 

But were it even true, that the Legislature of this Common- 



127 

wealth had expressed the intention of forcibly resisting the ex- 
ecution of an unconstitutional law, it would not therefore follow, 
that they had countenanced the doctrine of Nullification. The 
right of forcible resistance to the laws, in cases of extreme op- 
pression, is undisputed. If such a case should ever occur, Mas- 
sachusetts will openly take her stand upon that undisputed and 
indefeasible natural right. Nullification undertakes to recon- 
cile resistance with submission ; to obey and break the law at 
one and the same time. It must be justified, if at all, on prin- 
ciples entirely diflTerent from those which justify the natural 
right of resistance, and on principles which have never been 
professed, countenanced or practised upon by the Government 
or people of this Commonwealth. 

All which is respectfully submitted. 

For the Committee, 

A. H. EVERETT. 



RESOLVES 

In relation to the Proceedings of the Convention of South 
Carolina. 

Whereas, The People of South Carolina, assembled by their 
Delegates in Convention, have recently passsed an act, denomi- 
ted an Ordinance, purporting to annul certain acts of the Gov- 
ernment of the United States, and to arrest their execution 
within the limits of that State, and have transmitted a copy of 
the same to His Excellency the Governor, with an accompany- 
ing address to the people of this Commonwealth, setting forth 
the reasons by which they justify this extraordinary measure ; 
and 

Whereas, It is important that the opinion of the General 
Court of this Commonwealth should be publicly and distinctly 
expressed upon those proceedings, in order that their silence 
may not be construed into acquiescence in the propriety of the 
same, or approbation of the reasons alleged in justification of 
them : therefore 

Resolved, bij the Senate and House of Representatives of the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts, in General Court assembled. That the 
Constitution of the United States of America, is a solemn Social 
Compact, by which the people of the said States, in order to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic 
tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the gene- 
ral welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for themselves 
and their posterity, formed themselves into one body politic, 
under a common Government : that this Constitution, and the 
laws of the United States made in pursuance thereof, and all 
treaties made under the authority of the same, are the supreme 
law of the land, any thing in the Constitution or laws of any 
State to the contrary notwithstanding: and that no citizen. 
State, or other member of the body politic, has a right in any 



129 

shape, or under any pretext, to annul or prevent the execution 
of the said Constitution, laws, or treaties, or any of them, ex- 
cepting in such extreme cases as justify a violent resistance to 
the laws on the principle of the natural and indefeasible prerog- 
ative of self-defence against intolerable oppression. 

Resolved, That the right claimed by the Convention of South 
Carolina for that State, of annulling any law of the United 
States which it may deem unconstitutional, is unauthorized by . 
the letter or spirit of the Constitution— not supported by any 
contemporaneous exposition of that instrument, or by the prac- 
tice under it : — inconsistent with the nature of political society, 
and tending, in practice, to the subversion of public tranquillity, 
and the complete overthrow of the Government. 

Resolved, That the President of the United States is empow- 
ered, and in duty bound by the express provisions of the Con- 
stitution, and by his oath of office, to take care that the laws 
are faithfully executed :— that when attempts are made to dis- 
turb by force the execution of the laws, it is the duty of the 
President to employ the means which are placed at his disposal 
by the Constitution and laws for the purpose of defeating them : 
that the Proclamation of the 10th December last, is a judicious, 
well timed and salutary measure, well calculated to prevent the 
necessity of recurring to others of a difierent character :— that 
we approve the determination therein expressed by the Presi- 
dent, to enforce the laws ; and that we are prepared to support 
him and the other constituted authorities of the Union, in all the 
necessary, suitable, constitutional and legal measures, which 
they may be called upon to adopt for that purpose. 

Resolved, That while we find ourselves compelled to express 
an unfavorable opinion of the recent proceedings of South 
Carolina, we entertain no sentiments of unkindness towards 
our fellow citizens of that State :— that we look back with 
pride and satisfaction to the brilliant services rendered by 
South Carolina in the struggle for Independence, and have ever 
regarded her as among the most distinguished members of the 
Union : — that we deeply regret that measures adopted in good 
faith, and in a strictly constitutional form, by the constituted au- 
thorities of the country, should have been considered by the 
people of that State as intended to build up another section of 
18 



130 

the Union at their expense : — that we are, and always have been 
ready and desirous to listen in a sincere spirit of conciliation to 
any propositions for changing, in a constitutional and legal 
manner, any part of the existing legislation, and to give them all 
the attention to which they are fairly entitled: — and that we 
earnestly entreat our brethren and fellow citizens of South 
Carolina, to desist from the irregular, violent and uncon- 
stitutional attempts to obtain redress for their supposed griev- 
ances, in which they are now engaged, the result of which, if 
further pursued, can only be to create collision between the 
General and State Governments, endanger the public tranquil- 
lity, and seriously compromise the safety of the persons imme- 
diately concerned in them. 

Resolved, That His Excellency the Governor be requested to 
transmit a copy of these Resolves, and the Report preceding 
them, to the President of the United States, the Governors of all 
the States, and to each of the Senators and Representatives of 
this Commonwealth in Congress. 

In Senate, March 1, 1833. 
Read twice, and passed. 

Sent down for concurrence. 

B. T. PICKMAN, President. 

House of Representatives, March 9, 1833. 
Read twice, and passed in concurrence. 

W. B. CALHOUN, Speaker. 

March 11, 1833. 
Approved. 

LEVI LINCOLN. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



WEW YORK. 



REPORT 



The right claimed by the State of South Carolina, to make 
void the laws of the United States within her territory is so 
fully set forth in the Ordinance and Documents before the Leg- 
islature, and so well understood, that a precise statement in 
this report, of its nature and extent, would be superfluous 

The Committee have considered the claim, thus set up with 
the attention due to the high respectability of the source from 
which It emanated, and to the very grave consequences that 
would unavoidably result from its establishment; and they con 
cur with the Governor in regarding it as a pretension, -not 
merely unauthorized by the Constitution of the United States 
but fatally repugnant to all the objects for which it was framed '' 

The unfounded nature of the authority asserted by South Car 
olina, has been so clearly demonstrated in the Proclamation of 
the President of the United States, which has been published by 
order of the Legislature, and is now on its files; and is so fully 
confirmed by the concurring opinions of the people of every 
other State m the Union ; that it cannot be necessary that the 
Committee should attempt to shed any additional light upon a 
sul^ect, m respect to which, the argument may, wilh so much 
truth, be said to be exhausted. 

himt' TV^" ^""^'"' '' '''''''' ^^^ ^"*h«rity vested in 
him by the Constitution and laws of the United States; to en" 

runt rM " ''' '^^^' ^' '°"^' ^^^^^-^' -twithJtandiTg 
the unjustifiable attempt on the part of that State to arrest th! 
due execution thereof, is obvious and imperative. Ind 

fon^; h"r" "'" "'^'^' '''' '''y ^-^P--"^ ^-Jy the opin! 
ion of the Government and People of the State of L. York 
when they reciprocate the assurance given by the Governor 



134 

that in the performance of that great and responsible duty, by 
the exercise of necessary and proper means, the President may 
count on their support and co-operation. 

With this brief statement of the principal matter referred to 
them, the Committee would prefer to leave the subject. Con- 
sidered only with reference to the present aspect of the affair, 
it might not be strictly necessary to say more ; and they depre- 
cate too sincerely the asperities which usually grow out of di- 
versities of opinion upon doctrinal points, not to be anxious to 
avoid them as far as it can properly be done. The more espe- 
cially are they impressed with the propriety of such a course, in 
reference to the present posture of our public affairs, when the 
hearts and minds of our citizens should be exclusively directed 
to the measures best calculated to preserve the happy union of 
these States in the spirit of affection and brotherly love in which 
it was established. The Committee however, are too well ad- 
vised of the desire of the Legislature that their opinion should 
be distinctly expressed upon some points of deep interest, grow- 
ing out of the assumptions of right contained in the Ordinance 
of South Carolina, and the commentary of the President there- 
on in his recent Proclamation and Message, to feel themselves 
at liberty to exercise a discretion upon the subject. 

In the performance of the duty assigned them, they will sub- 
mit the dictates of their best judgment, in that spirit of liberal- 
ity and forbearance which, under any circumstances, it would 
give them pleasure to cherish, but which, under those that now 
exist, they consider it a sacred duty to observe. 

They believe that this duty cannot be better discharged than 
by a frank and explicit avowal of the principles which, in their 
opinion, ought to be applied to the construction of the Consti- 
tution of the United States, and to control in that respect the 
administration of the government established by it. They re- 
gard it the more important to do so, from the attempts which 
have been made to bring into discredit political principles 
which the people of this State have so long and so ardently 
cherished; and upon the maintenance of which, in all their pu- 
rity, the Committee firmly believe the safety of our institutions, 
and the future welfare of the country, mainly depend. The re- 
assertion of those principles at a period like the present, when 



136 

there is reason to fear that they may suffer from misapprehen- 
sion or misrepresentation, is, in the opinion of the Committee, a 
matter of paramount obligation. 

There is no reasonable ground to doubt, that the great body 
of the American people are fervently attached to the Union of 
the States, and sincerely desirous that the partition and limita- 
tions of power intended to be established by the Federal Con- 
stitution, and the republican principle on which it rests, should 
be preserved inviolate. They have, however, greatly differed 
as to the most effectual and least exceptionable means, of ef- 
fecting those objects ; and as to the true source of the dangers 
to which our political system was exposed. 

These differences arose in the Convention which framed the 
Constitution ; attended every step of its formation and estab- 
lishment, and have never ceased to exist. Consolidation on the 
one hand, tending to monarchy in the head, and on the other, 
anarchy, consequent upon the insubordination and resistance of 
the members, were the evils anticipated at its formation, and 
have ever since been dreaded by the respective parties. 

A portion of the people believed, that unless great vigor was 
imparted to the Federal arm, it would not be able to sustain it- 
self against the power and influence of the States, and effect the 
great objects which all desired to accomplish, through the agency 
of the Federal Government. Others supposed, that the natural 
tendency of the new system would be towards consolidation ; 
and that unless the powers delegated to the government, thus 
created, were granted with a sparing hand, scrupulously and 
vigilantly guarded, and the remaining powers and sovereignty 
of the States amply protected, there would be reason to appre- 
hend that the revolution of 1776 would be shorn of its honors 
and its benefits ; and the consequence ultimately would be, a 
return to that form of government which had been thrown off at 
so much cost. No candid and intelligent observer can have 
failed to witness the enduring effects of these early differences, 
nor be ignorant of the unceasing influence they have exercised 
on public affairs. On every recurrence to the confiicting prin- 
ciples by which they were generated, we have seen on the one 
side, a strong inclination to yield, readily, to that construction? 
and to that course of measures, which might best serve to 



136 

strengthen the Federal Government, and extend the sphere of 
its action ; a disposition which at all times, but with various suc- 
cess, has been resisted by those, who entertain different views, 
as to the best means of securing the efficacy and harmony, and 
of preserving the equilibrium and constant stability of the entire 
system. It is not the intention of the Committee to enter into 
a particular consideration of the reasons, by which these con- 
flicting opinions are respectively sustained ; nor to advert to them, 
farther than is necessary to the distinct and intelligible expla- 
nation of their own views, upon the subject referred tp them. 

The Committee are advocates for the reserved rights of the 
States, and a strict construction of the Constitution of the United 
States. Experience has, they think, fully demonstrated the 
wisdom of the determination of the Convention to commit to the 
Federal Government, the management of such concerns only, as 
appertain to the relations of the States with each other, and with 
foreign nations, and certain other matters particularly enumera- 
ted in the Constitution : leaving the great mass of the business 
of the people, relating as it does mainly to their domestic con- 
cerns, to the legislation of the States. They were wisely re- 
garded as the safest depositories of the latter powers. This 
course was moreover due to the reserved sovereignty of the 
States, and required by an enlightened estimate of the dangers 
to the harmony of National Legislation, inseparable from the 
great diversity in the interests and conditions of the different 
Slates. A sincere adherence to this partition of legislation 
amongst the respective governments, and an honest and inflexi- 
ble observance of the specifications and restrictions by which it 
was defined, in the sense designed by the Convention, and as 
understood by the people in the adoption of the Constitution, 
are in the best judgment of the Committee, indispensably ne- 
cessary to its preservation. 

Time, and the course of events, have solved the great prob- 
lem that divided the Convention. It is now apparent that the 
tendency of the system is to encroachments by the Federal 
Government upon the reserved rights of the States, rather than 
to an unwillingness on the part of the States to submit to a full 
exercise of the powers which were intended to be delegated to 
the General Government. So manifest has this tendency been 



137 

rendered to the people of the United States, that at several in- 
teresting eras in our history, they have been induced by the ex- 
cesses to which it led, to rise in their strength, and drive from 
power, the agents employed in giving it effect. Such was their 
course in the memorable civil revolution of 1800 : and the same 
sovereign remedy, upon the same impulse, and, it is hoped, with 
similar effect, was applied by the people in 1828. Whilst these 
scenes have passed before our eyes, and stand forth upon the 
page of our history, for our edification and security, not an in- 
stance has occurred in which the resistance of a single State, to 
the measures of the Federal Government, has excited sufficient 
sympathy or countenance from her sister States, to afJord cause 
for a well grounded apprehension of detriment to the Union, by 
an improper combination amongst its members. Even at this 
critical emergency in our public affairs, when so much discredit 
is apprehended to the sacred cause of State rights from the ex- 
cesses of South Carolina, the confidence of the Committee in the 
correctness of that cause is strengthened by the exemplary con- 
duct of her sister States. When we witness the fervent zeal that 
pervades them all, and see so many who have the same cause of 
complaint as South Carolina, and who are equally solicitous for 
a redress of their grievances, rising superior to local interests, 
exhibiting to the world the most sublime spectacle of devoted 
patriotism, and throwing their great moral and physical weight 
into the scale of the Union, who can doubt that now, as in the 
late war, the federal arm, in the hour of its greatest peril, will 
be upheld by the Slate authorities ? The Committee are cheer- 
ed by this animating indication of fidelity, not merely because 
they see in it the unequivocal evidence of the safety of that 
Union which they so highly cherish, but on account of the fa- 
vorable influence which the complete establishment of the prin- 
ciples to which they have avowed their attachment, is calcula- 
ted to exercise on the future administration of this government. 
In " the support of the State governments in all their rights as 
the most competent administrators of our domestic concerns and 
the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies: and the 
preservation of the general government in its whole constitu- 
tional vigor, as the sheet-anchor of our peace at home and safety 
abroad," the Committee recognize the highest duties of every 
19 



138 

public functionary ; and in the encouragement derived from the 
approving voice of a virtuous and grateful people, the best se- 
curity for their faithful performance. 

Of the deeply interesting questions arising upon the Ordi- 
nance and other documents referred to the Committee, there is 
none of more immediate importance, than the claim which is 
advanced, that a single State has a right to withdraw herself, 
against the wishes of her co-States, from the Union, whenever, 
in her sole judgment, the acts of the Federal Government shall 
be such as to justify the step. 

The Committee cannot approve this doctrine. Anxious as 
they are to sustain the sovereignty of the States in its full force, 
they do not feel it to be less their duty to " preserve," in the Ian- 
gunge of Mr. Jefferson, "the General Government, in its whole 
constitutional vigor." There is no conflict of duty between 
these sentiments ; so far from it, that, in the opinion of the 
Committee, no man can be a good citizen, who is disloyal to 
either. No apprehension too alarming, can be entertained as to 
the injurious consequences which may result from the principles 
attempted to be established. The Committee have witnessed, 
with deep regret, that an impression has gone abroad, that the 
assertion of this right was embraced in the proceedings of the 
Legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky, in 1798 and 1799. 
Whatever authority there may be for the right of secession, it 
certainly cannot, in the opinion of the Committee, claim any 
from those proceedings. They took place at a very dark and 
portentous period in our history ; when the encroachments of 
the Federal Government, and the general temper of the times 
had filled the hearts of many of our firmest patriots with alarm. 

The respect of the people of this State, for those emanations 
of lofty and devoted patriotism, is at this day as great, and their 
devotion to the principles they inculcated, as sincere as it was 
in 1800. And the Committee cannot, as they conceive, render a 
more acceptable service to the Republic, than by separating 
them from a doctrine which, however sincerely it may be enter- 
tained by others, is rejected by our citizens, with a degree of 
unanimity heretofore unknown to political controversy. A very 
brief exposition of the nature and history of those proceedings, 
is all that is essential for that purpose. The portions of the 



139 

Virginia Resolutions, upon the alien and sedition laws, (and 
there is not, in this respect, sufficient difference between them 
and those of Kentucky, to make the separate examination of each 
necessary) from which such a deduction is attempted to be made, 
are in the following words : 

" That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, 
that it views the powers of the Federal Government, as resulting 
from the Compact, to which the States are parties, as limited by 
the plain sense and intention of the Instrument constituting that 
Compact ; as no farther valid than they are authorized by the 
grants enumerated in that Compact ; and that, in case of a de- 
liberate, palpable and dangerous exercise of other powers, not 
granted by the said Compact, the States who are parties 
thereto, have a right, and are in duty bound, to interpose, for 
arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within 
their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties ap- 
pertaining to them." 

"' That the good people of this Commonwealth, having ever 
felt, and continuing to feel the most sincere affection for their 
brethren of other States: the truest anxiety for establishing and 
perpetuating the union of all ; and the most scrupulous fidelity 
to that Constitution which is the pledge of mutual friendship, 
and the instrument of mutual happiness ; the General Assembly 
doth solemnly appeal to the like dispositions in the other States, 
in confidence that they will concur with this Commonwealth in 
declaring, as it does hereby declare, that the acts aforesaid are 
unconstitutional ; and, that the necessary and proper measures 
will be taken by each, for co-operating with this State in main- 
taining unimpaired, the authorities, rights and liberties reserved 
in the States respectively, or to the people." 

These resolutions were met by several of the State Legisla- 
tures to whom they had been communicated, by counter reso- 
lutions, protesting against them with much warmth, chiefly on 
the ground that the act of a State Legislature, declaring a law 
of the United States unconstitutional, was, in itself, an unconsti- 
tutional assumption of authority, and an unwarrantable interfer- 
ance with the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the 
United States : accompanied, in some instances, with severe de- 
nunciations against their disorganizing tendency. 



140 

The resolutions of the protesting States were, at a succeeding 
session of the Virginia Legislature, referred to and reported 
upon, at large, by a Committee of that body. Their report was 
written by Mr Madison, and led to a re-affirmance by Virginia, 
of the unconstitutionality of the alien and sedition laws, and a 
re-assertion of the doctrines of the original resolutions. This 
masterly exposition of the true principles of the Constitution, 
and of the abuses which had been practised under it, contrib- 
uted more than any event, to that radical change in the public 
sentiment of the country, which was consummated by the elec- 
tion of Mr. Jefferson, and has, from that day to the present, been 
justly regarded as the genuine text book of political orthodoxy. 
The Committee do, unhesitatingly, and with great satisfaction, 
embrace this occasion to avow their decided approbation of its 
doctrines ; and they feel, that they would be wanting in grati- 
tude and duty, if they were not to express their conviction of the 
benefits which have been derived from their influence : of the 
extent to which, in their opinion, the future operations of our 
political institutions are dependent upon the continued respect 
and confidence of the people in them : as well as their unfeign- 
ed admiration of the unsurpassed disinterestedness and inflexi- 
ble fidelity, with which those doctrines have, through evil and 
through good report, been sustained by that truly patriotic 
member of the confederacy. 

That the judicial department of the Federal Government, was 
the exclusive expositor of the Constitution, in cases submitted 
to its judgment, in the last resort, was freely admitted. But, it 
was contended by that Committee — " First, that there may be 
instances of usurped power, which the forms of the Constitution 
would never draw within the control of the judicial department : 
Secondly, that if the decision of the judiciary be raised above 
the authorities of the sovereign parties to the Constitution, the 
decisions of the other departments not carried by the forms of 
the Constitution before the Judiciary, must be equally authorita- 
tive and final with the decisions of that department. That the 
resolutions of the General Assembly, related to those great and 
extraordinary cases in which all the forms of the Constitution 
may prove ineftectual against infractions dangerous to the essen- 
tial rights of the parties to it. That the resort to the judiciary 



141 

must necessarily be deemed the last, in relation to the authori- 
ties of the other departments of the Government : not in rela- 
tion to the rights of the parties to the constitutional compact, 
from which the judicial as well as the other departments hold 
their delegated trusts. On any other hypothesis, the delegation 
of judicial power would annul the authority of the power dele- 
gating it ; and the concurrence of this department with others 
in usurped powers, might subvert forever, and beyond the pos- 
sible reach of any rightful remedy, the very Constitution which 
all were instituted to preserve." That " a declaration that pro- 
ceedings of the Federal Government are not warranted by the 
Constitution, was a novelty neither among the citizens nor the 
Legislatures of the States ;" — " nor could the declarations of 
either, whether affirming or denying the constitutionality of the 
measures of the Federal Government; or whether made before 
or after judicial decisions thereon, be deemed in any point of 
view an assumption of the office of a judge. The declarations 
in such cases are expressions of opinion, unaccompanied with 
other effect than what they may produce on opinion by exciting 
reflection. The expositions of the judiciary, on the other hand, 
are carried into immediate effect by force. The former may lead 
to a change in the legislative expression of the general will — 
possibly to a change in the opinion of the judiciary." Hence it 
was urged that there was no impropriety in the declaration by 
the Legislature that the alien and sedition laws were unconsti- 
tutional : nor was there any valid objection to the communica- 
tion of that resolution to her sister States ; nor in the invita- 
tion which was given to them to concur therein ; nor in asking 
for the adoption of " necessary and proper measures by each, 
fir co-operating with her in maintaining unimpaired the author- 
ties, rights, and liberties reserved in the States respectively, or 
to the people." 

But what were those measures which the Legislature of Vir- 
ginia deemed " necessary and proper" to meet the exigency in 
the affairs of the country so truly alarming as that which then 
existed, and to which their proceedings had reference ? Was it 
to oppose, by State authority, the regular administration of jus- 
tice in any case in law or equity committed by the Constitution 



142 

to the Federal Judiciary ? Did they relate to resistance by a 
member of the confederacy, to the execution of the laws of the 
United States, passed in conformity to the provisions of the Con- 
stitution ; or embrace the revocation by a State of the powers 
which had, with so much solemnity, and under such high penal- 
ties, been granted by the people of the respective States to the 
Federal Government ? Far, very far from it. Anticipations of 
this character were entertained when those resolutions were 
under discussion in the Virginia Legislature, and they were con- 
sequently denounced as the harbinger of civil commotion. 
These denunciations were met and refuted by the advocates of 
the resolutions, not only after they had been submitted to the 
other States, but when they were first submitted to the Legisla- 
ture of that State. They were introduced by John Taylor, of 
Caroline. 

In reply to these predictions, he said, " Suppose a clashing of 
opinion should exist between Congress and the States, respect- 
ing the true limits of the constitutional territories, it was easy to 
see that if the right of decision had been vested in either party, 
that party deciding in the spirit and interest of party, would in- 
evitably have swallowed up the other. The Constitution must 
not only have foreseen the possibility of such a clashing, but 
also the consequence of a preference on either side as to its con- 
struction ; and out of this foresight must have arisen the fifth 
article, by which two-thirds of Congress may call upon the 
States for an explanation of any such controversy as the present, 
by way of amendment to the Constitution, and thus correct an 
erroneous construction of its own acts, by a minority of the 
States ; whilst two-thirds of the States are also allowed to com- 
pel Congress to call a convention, in case so many should think 
an amendment necessary, for the purpose of checking the un- 
constitutional acts of that body. Thus, so far as Congress may 
have power, it might exert it to check the usurpations of a 
State, and so far as the States may possess it, an union of two- 
thirds in one opinion might effectually check the usurpations of 
Congress. And under this article of the Consiitution, the in- 
controvertible principle before stated might become practically 
useful, otherwise no remedy did exist for the only case which 
could possibly destroy the Constitution, namely, an encroach- 



143 

ment by Congress or the States upon the rights of the other. 
* * * * ]\Ii-, Taylor then proceeded to apply these observ- 
ations to the threats of war, and the apprehension of civil 
commotion, towards which the resolutions were said to have a 
tendency. Are the republicans, said he, possessed of fleets and 
armies ? If not, to what could they appeal for defence and sup- 
port ? To nothing except public opinion. If that should be 
against them, they must yield. * * * * How could the 
fifth article of the Constitution be brought into practical use, 
even upon the most flagrant usurpations ? War or insurrection, 
therefore, could not happen," &c. * * * * " Such, how- 
ever, he hoped would be the respect to public opinion, that he 
doubted not but that the two reprobated laws would be sacri- 
ficed, to quiet the apprehensions even of a single State, without 
the necessity of a convention or a mandate from three-fourths of 
the States, whenever it shall be admitted that the quiet and hap- 
piness of the people is the end and design of Government." 

Similar sentiments were advanced by the other supporters of 
the resolutions. Mr. IMercer said "that force was never thought 
of by any one. The preservation of the Federal Constitution, 
the cement of the Union, with its original powers, was the ob- 
ject of the resolutions." 

But all pretence for misapprehension or misconstruction upon 
this head is put at rest by the direct explanations of the Virginia 
Legislature, in the report which was made and received their 
sanction in the session of 1799; in which, in relation to the 
means referred to in the resolutions, and in answer to the objec- 
tion that they might have been such as conflicted with the order 
and stability of the Union, they say, "In the example given by 
the State, of declaring the alien and sedition acts to be uncon- 
stitutional, and of communicating the declaration to the other 
States, no trace of improper means has appeared. And if the 
other States had concurred in making a like declaration, sup- 
ported too by the numerous applications flowing immediately 
from the people, it can scarcely be doubted, that these simple 
means would have been as sufficient as they are unexceptionable. 

" It is no less certain that other means might have been em- 
ployed which are strictly within the limits of the Constitution. 
The Legislatures of the States might have made a direct repre- 



144 

sentation to Congress, with a view to obtain a rescinding of the 
two offensive acts ; or they might have represented to their re- 
spective Senators in Congress their wish that two-thirds thereof 
would propose an explanatory amendment to the Constitution; 
or two-thirds of themselves, if such had been their option, 
might, by an application to Congress, have obtained a conven- 
tion for the same object. 

" These several means, though not equally eligible in them- 
selves, nor probably to the States, were all constitutionally open 
for consideration. And if the General Assembly, after declaring 
the two acts to be unconstitutional, the first and most obvious 
proceeding on the subject, did not undertake to point out to the 
other States a choice among the farther measures that might 
become necessary and proper, the reserve will not be miscon- 
strued by liberal minds into any culpable imputation." 

Such was the understanding of the import and the intent of 
the resolutions by him who introduced them ; by those who sup- 
ported them ; by the Committee to which they were at a subse- 
quent session referred ; and by the Legislature which adopted 
their exposition. 

It is a matter of undoubted historical fact, that the Virginia 
resolutions were drawn up by Mr. Madison, and those of Ken- 
tucky by Mr. Jefferson. 

In the dispensation of an all-wise Providence, Mr. i\Iadison's 
useful and brilliant life has been prolonged to this late period of 
existence. He has borne his testimony against the justice of any 
of the inferences which the Committee have felt it their duty to 
repel ; and they are unadvised of any act or declaration of Mr. 
Jefferson, who, in the confidence and affections of his fellow 
citizens, was only second to the Father of his Country, which 
conflicts with the known views of his great coadjutor. The 
Committee are well aware that the advocates of nullification 
have attempted to sustain that doctrine by expressions contained 
in an unpromulgated draft of the Kentucky resolutions found 
among his papers, in which is set forth the right of a State to 
nullify an act of Congress, passed in respect to a subject upon 
which its action is expressly inhibited^ or upon vvhich it had no 
authority to legislate at all. A suggestion which, if it were pos- 
sible to make a paper so circumstanced whenever it may be 



145 

found, the basis of so solemn an act, is clearly inapplicable to 
the case under consideration, inasmuch as it expressly declares, 
that for "an abuse of delegated power," (the most that could by 
possibility be made of the revenue laws) "the members of the 
General Government being chosen by the people, a change by 
the people would be the Constitutional remedy." But the pub- 
lished writings of that great man are replete with the evidences 
of his avowed opinions, inconsistent with the supposition that 
he believed in the right of a single State either to make consti- 
tutional resistance to the laws of the United States or to dissolve 
the Union by withdrawing herself from it, when in her sole 
judgment, the circumstances were sufficient to justify the act. 

In a letter to Mr. Destutt Tracy, in January, 1811, he says, 
"Dangers of another kind might more reasonably be apprehend- 
ed from this perfect and distinct organization, civil and military, 
of the States, to wit: that certain States from local and occa- 
sional discontents, might attempt to secede from the Union. 
This is certainly possible ; and would be befriended by this 
regular organization. But it is not probable that local discon- 
tents can spread to such an extent as to be able to face the 
sound parts of so extensive a Union — and if ever they should 
reach the majority, they would then become the regular govern- 
ment, acquire asc^endency in Congress, and be able to redress 
their own grievances by laws peaceably and constitutionally 



In a letter to Elbridge Gerry, of January, 1812, he uses these 
significant and emphatic expressions : — "What, then, does this 
English faction with you mean .'' Their newspapers say rebel- 
lion, and that they will not remain united with us, unless we 
will permit them to govern the majority. If this be their pur- 
j pose, their anti-republican spirit, it ought to be met at once. 
; But a government like ours should be slow in believing this, 
j should put forth its whole might when necessary to suppress it, 
I and promptly return to the paths of reconciliation. The extent 
i of our country secures it, I hope, from the vindictive passions of 
I the petty incorporations of Greece. I rather suspect that the 
I principal office of the other seventeen States, will be to mode- 
, rate and restrain the local excitement of our friends with you, 

20 

1 



146 

when they (with the aid of their brethren of the other States, 
if they need it,) shall have brought the rebellious to their feet." 

In a letter to Major John Cartwright, as late as June, 1824, he 
says, "But, you may ask, if the two departments, (meaning the 
General and State Governments,) should claim each the same 
subject of power, where is the common umpire to decide ulti- 
mately between them ? In cases of little importance or urgency, 
the prudence of both parties will keep them aloof from the 
questionable ground ; but if it can neither be avoided nor com- 
promised, a convention of the Stales must be called, to ascribe the 
doubtful power to that department which they may think best. 
You will perceive by these details, that we have not yet so far 
perfected our Constitutions as to venture to make them un- 
changeable. But still, in their present state, we consider them 
not otherwise changeable than by the authority of the people, 
on a special election of representatives for that purpose express- 
ly : They are until then the lex legum." 

The Committee have felt it their duty to say thus much, in 
order to sep^-rate the doctrines of 1798, from the principle now 
in question. So far, at least, as they are contained in and de- 
pend on documents which deserve to be held in respectful re- 
membrance whilst the Constitution endures. 

Neither do the Committee concur in thp opinion that ihe 
right of secession necessarily results from the sovereignty of the 
States. It appears to the Committee, and they express their 
views with unfeigned deference to the highly respectable opin- 
ions of those who differ with them, that this impression arises 
from erroneously regarding the sovereignty of the respective 
States as unqualified, and the association a mere confederacy of 
free and sovereign States. If such were the case, if the union 
were a mere league, the result contended for might follow ; but 
the Committee do not so understand the system. The States, 
on the contrary, as it was competent for the people of each, act- 
ing in their highest sovereign character, have voluntarily estab- 
lished, by express grant, a sovereignty in some respects concur- 
rent with, and in other respects superior to, their own. This 
authority thus established, though founded on a compact, is nev- 
ertheless a government which is made by that compact sovereign 
and independent as to the powers granted to it, in the same 



147 

manner as the States are sovereign and independent as to powers 
not granted. The people of the respective States have stipula- 
ted that their legislatures, and all their executive and judicial 
officers, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support the 
Constitution of that government. For a breach of their allegi- 
ance to it, they have voluntarily subjected themselves to the 
highest penalties known to human laws; and to maintain its 
sovereignty, they have invested this government of their own 
creation with the purse and sword of the nation. The faithful 
performance of this contract is certainly matter of high obliga- 
tion on all the parties to it ; and no condemnatien by the people 
can be too severe upon such as are so lost to the obligation 
under which they rest, to each other, to the people, and to the 
cause of free government throughout the world, as to be guilty 
of its intentional violation. But, of the fact and consequences 
of such a breach, in cases where no other un^pire hus been de- 
signated, it is the right of each party to judge for itself; not for 
the Federal Government exclusively, as was contended by the 
States which protested against the Virginia and Kentucky res- 
olutions in 1799 ; nor for each State solely, as is now contend- 
ed. No right is reserved to the people of any State to absolve 
themselves from the performance of duties which they have so 
solemnly assumed, without the consent of the other party or par- 
ties to the compact. Each Slate, on surrendering a portion of 
its sovereignty, acquired, in consequence thereof, a right to the 
perpetual adherence of each of its co-States to that Union which 
is so necessary to, and was established for, the security of all. 

The articles of Confederation abound with declarations that 
the Union then formed should be perpetual ; and the present 
Constitution was established for the avowed purpose of making 
it more perfect. New York entered into the formation of it ex- 
pressly " to render the Federal Constitution adequate to the exi- 
gencies of the Government, and the preservation of the Union." 
Deficient, indeed, would have been the work which came from 
the hands of those great men who framed the Constitution, the 
final adoption of which was hailed with so much joy by the peo- 
ple, if it thus contained the elements of its own destruction. 

When a State shall attempt to withdraw herself from the Con- 
federacy, it is for her co-States to decide whether they will re- 



148 

linquish the rights which they acquired when they surrendered 
a portion of their sovereignty — consent to a dissolution, and en- 
deavor to establish a new Government ; or whether they will 
insist on the preservation of the Union as it is. Without the 
recognition of this right, the Union could not have existed to the 
present day. Strip the States of this right, and a system which 
but yesterday excited the respect and admiration of the world, 
must soon, very soon, serve only as an additional argument in 
the mouths of monarchists and absolutists against the capacity 
of man for self-government- 
Let it not, however, be supposed that the Committee are the 
advocates of unconditional submission. Such are not their 
views. They concur fully in the sentiment, " that the authority 
of constitutions over governments, and of the sovereignty of the 
people over constitutions, are truths which are at all times neces- 
sary to be kept in mind." Or, in the language of our own 
State, " that the powers of Government may be re-assumed by 
the people, whenever it shall become necessary to their happi- 
ness." In respect to State governments, this control can be 
constitutionally exercised by a bare majority of the people ; and 
in the Federal Government, by a specified number of the States. 
But this is not the only mode by which the people can redress 
intolerable grievances. There is another, which cannot be bet- 
ter described than has been done by Mr. Madison. " And in 
the event (says he) of the failure of every constitutional resort, 
and an accumulation of usurpations and abuses, rendering pass- 
ive obedience and non-resistance a greater evil than resistance 
and revolution, there can remain but one resort, the last of all — 
an appeal from the cancelled obligations of the compact, to 
original rights and the law of self-preservation. This is the ultima 
ratio under all governments, whether consolidated, confederated, 
or a compound of both. And it cannot be doubted that a single 
member of the Union, in the extremity supposed, but in that 
only, would have a right, as an extra and ultra-constitutional 
right, to make the appeal." 

It was to this species of separation, which God in his infinite 
mercy avert ! that the Committee understand JMr. Jefferson as 
referring, when he alluded to the farther measure of redress 
which might be resorted to in extreme cases, and spoke of Vir- 



149 

ginia's " standing by her arms." It was this great calamity that 
he sought to avoid, when he so eloquently and feelingly invoked 
his native State never to think of it, until the sole alternatives 
left, were a dissolution of the Union, or submission to a Gov- 
ernment, without limitation or power. 

The history given by the President, of the formation of our 
Government, has drawn forth conflicting opinions in respect to 
its accuracy ; and lest the Committee might be regarded as hav- 
ing omitted any portion of their duties, they will, upon this sub- 
ject, also, with deference to the views of others, but frankly 
state their own. 

The character of our Government, so far as that is effected by 
the manner in which the Federal Constitution was framed and 
adopted, has been always a matter of more or less contention. 
Differences of opinion upon the subject, have been in some de- 
gree fostered by a seeming discrepancy between the preamble 
of the Constitution, and historical facts ; and perhaps in a still 
greater degree, by the different senses in which the term 
" States," is used by different persons. If we use that term, not 
merely as denoting particular sections of territory, nor as refer- 
ring to the particular governments, established and organized 
by the political societies within each, but as referring to the 
people composing those political societies, in their highest sove- 
reign capacity (as the Committee think that in this respect the 
term should be used) it is incontrovertible, that the States must 
be regared as parties to the compact. For it is well establish- 
ed, that, in that sense, the Constitution was submitted to the 
States ; that in that sense, the States ratified it. This is the ex- 
planation which is given of the matter in the report to the Vir- 
ginia Legislature, which has already received the sanction of 
the Committee. It is in this sense of the term " States," liiat 
they form the constituency from which the Federal Constitution 
emanated, and it is by the States, acting either by their Legis- 
latures, or in Convention, that any valid alterations of the in- 
strument can alone be made. It is by so understanding the 
subject, that the preamble is reconciled with facts, and that it is 
a Constitution established by " the people of the United States," 
not as one consolidated body, but as members of separate and 
independent communities, each acting for itself, without regard 



150 

to their comparative numbers. It was in this form that the Con- 
stitution of the United States was established by the people of 
the different States, with the same solemnity that the Constitu- 
tions of the respective States were established; and, as the 
Committee have heretofore insisted, with the same binding force 
in respect to the powers which were intended to be delegated 
to the Federal Government. The effects which are likely to be 
produced by the adoption of either of the different versions of 
the Constitution, which have at different times been contended 
for, it is not the intention of the Committee to discuss. The 
positive provisions and restrictions of that instrument, could not 
be directly abrogated by the recognition of either. The com- 
parative weight and influence which would be attached to 
the allegations and remonstrances of the States, in respect to the 
supposed infractions of the Compact, might, however, be very 
different, whether they are regarded as sovereign parties of the 
Compact, acting upon their reserved rights, or as forming only 
indiscriminate portions of the great body of the people of the 
United States, thus giving a preponderence to mere numbers, in- 
compatible with the frame and design of the Federal Consti- 
tution. 

The diversities of opinion which have arisen upon this sub- 
ject, have been more or less injurious according to their influ- 
ence in inclining or disinclining the minds of those who enter- 
tain them, to a faithful observance of the landmarks of authority 
between the respective Governments, Professions are easily 
made ; and the best evidence of a correct appreciation of the 
nature and design of the system by a public agent, is to be found 
in the general bearing of his official acts. If his conduct be 
characterized by a desire to administer the Government upon 
the principles which his constituents have elected, and by a de- 
termination to repudiate the dangerous heresy, that the Consti- 
tution is to be interpreted, not by the well understood intentions 
of those who framed and those who adopted it, but by what can 
be made out of its words by ingenious interpretation ; if he 
honestly believes that the people are the safest depository of 
power, and acts up to that belief, by evincing an unwillingness 
to exercise authority which was not intended to be granted, and 
which the States and the people might not, on open application^ 



151 

be willing to grant ; if he has steadily opposed the adoption of 
all schemes, however magnificent and captivating, which are 
not warranted by the Constitution — which, from the inequality 
of their benefits and burthens, are calculated to sow discord 
where there should be union, and which are too frequently 
the offspring of that love of personal authority and aggrandize- 
ment which men in power find it so difficult to resist. If he has 
done all in his power to arrest the increase of monopolies, under 
all circumstances so adverse to public liberty, and the equal 
interests of the community. If his official career has been dis- 
tinguished by unceasing assiduity to promote economy in the 
public expenditures, to relieve the people from all unnecessary 
burthens, and generally to preserve our republican system in 
that simplicity and purity which were intended for it — under 
which it has hitherto been so successful, by which it can alone be 
maintained ; and on account of which it has, until this moment, 
stood in such enviable and glorious contrast with the corrupt 
systems of the old world. If such be the traces of his official 
course, and if in maintaining it he shall have impressed all man- 
kind with the conviction that he regards as nothing, conse- 
quences which are merely personal to himself, when they come 
in contact with duty to his couiitry, the people of the United 
States will not doubt his attachment to the true principles of 
that Constitution which he has so %ithfnlly administered and so 
nobly supported. Such, the Committee take pride in saying, 
has been the official course of our present Chief Magistrate — a 
course by which, in the judgment of the people of this State, he 
has established for himself imperishable claims to their grati- 
tude, respect, and confidence. 

The Committee have thus explained their views upon the 
several delicate and deeply interesting questions before them, 
with that frankness which becomes the solemn occasion on 
which they act, and which should always characterize the move- 
ments of a sovereign State upon matters involving her relations 
with her sister States. In doing so, they have felt it to be their 
duty to vindicate and explain the political principles which are 
entertained by themselves, and, as they believe, by a majority 
of the good people of this State. In the performance of this 
act of justice and duty, they have endeavored to avoid all impu- 



152 

tations upon the motives of those who may differ from them* 
The same independence and toleration which they claim for 
themselves, they are disposed to extend to others. Amidst the 
conflict of interest and feelings with which those, who are 
charged with the conduct of public affairs at this interesting 
crisis, are obliged to struggle, there is happily one opinion 
which has not yet met with a dissenting voice in all the land ; 
and which it is fervently hoped, is too deeply implanted in the 
minds and hearts of the people to be ever eradicated. It is a 
thorough conviction, that anarchy, degradation, and intermina- 
ble distress, will be, must be, the unavoidable results of a disso- 
lution of the union of these States. Associated with this undeni- 
able and undenied truth, and growing out of it, there are, we 
trust, two other sentiments of equal universality — a determina- 
tion to maintain the Union at all hazards, and a willingness to 
make liberal concessions, nay sacrifices, for the preservation of 
peace and reciprocal good will amongst its members. Upon 
this great conservative platform, all sincere friends of the Union, 
all who honor and truly respect the parting adn)onitions of the 
Father of his country, all who prefer that country to their own 
ambitious views and personal aggrandizement, and who are dis- 
posed to give the Executive of the United States a cordial and 
efficient support, can meet, and act in concert to promote the 
greatest of all earthly objects. Here all may earn the enduring 
respect and confidence of the people, by an honorable sacrifice 
of personal and party feelings on the altar of their country's 
safety. We may differ as to the time, the manner, or the extent 
of the measures to be employed, whether of conciliation or co- 
ercion. It cannot be expected, at the present crisis, that honest 
and unprejudiced minds should all happen to arrive at the same 
conclusion. But such differences should not occasion heart 
burnings, much less resentments. Our fathers differed in like 
manner in the establishment of our Government; and it is in 
vain for us to hope for exemption from similar embarrassments ; 
the causes which produced them have not yet ceased to operate ; 
they have been planted by the hand of nature, and cannot be 
entirely removed by that of man. Those, to whose valor and 
disinterested patriotism we are indebted for this glorious system 
unaer which wc have so long and so happily lived, overcame 



« 153 

them by mutual concession and compromise. If every man 
looks only to his own interests, or every State to its own favorite 
policy, and insists upon them, this Union cannot be preserved. 
We must not deceive ourselves upon this point, or suffer others 
to deceive us. Our errors, in this respect, may lead to conse- 
quences which can never be recalled ; and over which we and 
our posterity may have occasion to shed bitter tears of repen- 
tance ; we must take higher counsel than that which is derived 
from our pockets or our passions; we must be just, and, if need 
be, generous ; and the deep and overpowering attachment of 
the great mass of the people to the Union, the fidelity, energy, 
and fortitude of their character, directed by the illustrious man 
so providentially at the head of the Government, will carry us 
safely through the dangers which threaten our beloved country. 
It remains only to reciprocate, as the Committee doubt not the 
two Houses will readily do, the magnanimous and enlightened 
sentiments expressed by the Governor, upon the subject which 
has caused the present embarrassments in our public affairs. 
Most cheerfully, therefore, do they respond to his declarations, 
which "disclaim for New York all desire to aggrandize herself 
at the expense of her sister States, or to pervert to local purpo- 
ses, a system of government intended for the common benefit of 
all;" which assert her estimate of the value of the Union and 
her-devoti'^n to it; and which avow her willingness, if the ope- 
ration of existing laws be adverse to those views, to consent to 
such a modification of them as will remove all just ground of 
complaint, and afford substantial relief to every real o-rievance. 
In these sentiments the committee recognize the best policy as 
well as the true glory of these States ; a policy, "which culti- 
vates peace and harmony by observing justice." 
I The opinion of this State in favor of the constitutional power 
; of Congress, to afford encouragement and protection to domestic 
I products, by the establishment for that object of suitable com- 
j mercial regulations, has been too often declared to need repeti- 
I tion. Neither time nor circumstances have contributed to 
I change its convictions, either of the existence or importance of 
! this right. Without it, it would not be possible for the Federal 
Government to carry into effect one of the principal objects of 
its institution : and the United States would, in relation to our 
I 21 



154 

own exports, be left altogether at the mercy of foreign nations. 
The possession of the right, however, and the manner and extent 
of its exercise are very different matters. Whatever causes of 
serious apprehension for the stability of the Union may hereto- 
fore have arisen from this source, it appears to the Committee 
that they have been greatly lessened by the payment of the na- 
tional debt, and the disposition of the Executive of the United 
States, and, as the Com-nittee firmly believe, of the great body 
of the people, to make .such a modification of the tariff as be- 
comes by that event just and practicable. The repeated recom- 
mendations of the President to reduce the revenue to what is 
requisite to defray the expenses of the government, necessarily 
incurred within the pale of the Constitution, and under a strictly 
economical administration of our affairs, have been so distinctly 
and emphatically sanctioned by the people of this State, as to 
leave no room for doubt or cavil as to their cheerful acqui- 
escence in the measure. Indeed, the Committee are yet to learn, 
that there is any man in this great community who advocates or 
would justify the collection of taxes from the people for any 
other purpose, and certainly not for the sole one of taking money 
from the pockets of one class of our people to put iiiio those 
of another. All that is asked, is, that the amount of duties thus 
raised, and so expended, shall be levied in such a manner as to 
afford reasonable encouragement and protection to our own 
manufactures and other productions, to enable them to compete 
with similar articles, the manufacture or production of other 
countries. With such qualifications as may be necessary to 
prevent injustice, and to preserve inviolate that sound rule of 
legislation, which requires that all public burthens should be 
borne in a fair proportion to the abil'ty of the contributors, and 
the extent of the security which they derive from the govern- 
ment. In other words, that too large a share of the public 
taxes be not imposed upon those articles of prime necessity to 
the poor, to the exoneration of articles of luxury, which aroused 
only by the rich. And further, that the reduction of duties thus 
rendered practicable by the payment of the public debt, though 
ultimately certain, should not be sudden or capricious, but tem- 
pered to the condition of existing establishments — establishments 
which have grown up and been encouraged by our legislation^ 



155 

and whose claims to the favor and indulgence of the government 
and people are founded upon the public faith. To a claim so 
reasonable the Committee are unwilling to believe that the real 
friends of the Union any where can object. Men may resist to 
the uttermost the imposition of unreasonable burthens for the 
protection of articles, in the manufacture and production of 
which they are not immediately concerned. But, there are, 
surely, no American citizens who, exempt from such impositions, 
would not prefer to encourage those of their own country, in 
preferenoe to the fruits of foreign labor. 

It is not in behalf of New York, particularly, that these con- 
siderations are urged. For it is notorious that this State is not 
the principal seat of manufacturing establishments. But jus- 
tice dictates the same course whatever and wherever be its ap- 
plication. 

The rules by which this distribution and reduction of the pub- 
lic burthens are to be effected, must from the nature of things, 
be more or less arbitrary and uncertain. But if the subject be 
undertaken and prosecuted in good faith — if the tariff system be 
not mL^de subservient to the purposes of personal ambition, nor 
to the cravings of individual cupidity, but treated as a matter of 
business, affecting deeply the private concerns of every man in 
every quarter of the Union, there is no doubt of the ability of 
Congress to adopt such rules as will be satisfactory to tlie nation. 

That the bill of the last session will nOt reduce the revenue to 
the proposed standard is certain. The anticipated excess is es- 
timated at between six and seven millions of dollars. Whether 
the late act should be permitted to go into operation with the 
mtention of modifying the system at thn next session of Con- 
gress ; or whether the object in view snail be effected at the 
present session, by a law which, though passed now, shall have 
a gradual operation, is an important point in the difficult and 
deeply interesting question to be decided. The Committee are 
by no means insensible to the embarrassment arising from the 
existence of the Ordinance of the State of South Carolina, and 
regret that any such obstructiou should have beon thrown in 
the way of a regular expression of the public will. They could 
never advise any legislation by Congress under the dictation of 
any power ; and they have very little fear, that any such will be 



156 

desired by the Executive, or sanctioned by that body. It must, 
however, be borne in mind, that South Carolina is not the only 
State which considers herself injuriously affected by the existing 
law, and seeks relief from its operation ; that there are many 
other States who are, in this respect, similarly circumstanced} 
whose alienation from the Union would be the greatest calamity 
that could befal us, but who have shown as much devotion to 
the Union, and have manifested as much repugnance to the 
measures of South Carolina as any. It is then for the justice 
and sound discretion of Congress to decide, whether, whilst all 
proper measures are adopted to maintain the laws of the United 
States in the State of South Carolina, in the same manner as if 
no such Ordinance had been passed, they may not without det- 
riment to the honor and dignity of the Government, now act 
upon a matter which has been so specially and urgently submit- 
ted to them by the Executive. We may be assured that there is 
sufficient intelligence and virtue in the people to judge those 
greatly deprecated measures by themselves, uninfluenced by 
prejudices of any sort on the one hand, or by the cotemporane- 
ous measures of the Government on the other. Nor is it a mat- 
ter of slight importance to the people ot this State to consider 
whether the acts of South Carolina ought to occasion a collec- 
tion from them of about one million of dollars annually, a sum 
three times as large as is required for the entire expenses of our 
State Government, when the President informs us that it is not 
needed for the public service. 

The duly of deciding upon these grave matters, rests, as has 
been justly observed by the Governor, so far as this State has a 
voice in the discussion, with those who represent us in the Con- 
gress of the United States. There, the Committee think, with a 
general expression of the sense of the Legislature, it ought and 
may with safety be left. It would, doubtless, be competent for 
the Legislature to give explicit advice and instruction to their 
representatives upon the subject; but from the obvious superi- 
ority in position of our representatives in Congress, to take a 
better view of the whole ground than that which is possessed by 
us, and from the great extent to which the question as to the 
most proper time for action, as well as the particular provisions 
which ought to be made, are dependent on facts and details, of 



167 

which it is impossible that we can be as capable of judging as they 
are, the Committee think the Legislature will best consult their 
duty and the interests of all, by confining themselves, at this 
time, to the general expression of opinion which is now most 
respectfully proposed. 

If by a faithful adherence to the principles here advanced in 
their behalf, the people of this State can contribute to the res- 
toration and preservation of that fraternal affection in which the 
Union was originally founded, by which it was once cemented, 
and which is so essential to its preservation, it will be to them a 
source of much joy and deep gratitude to the Supreme Disposer 
of events, for the agency they have been permitted to exercise 
in effecting so great a good. But if, on the contrary, their well- 
meant efforts prove unavailing ; if the offerings of peace and 
good will which have been freely and so sincerely tendered by 
them, in conjunction with their co-States who participate in the 
same sentiments, shall be rejected ; if, in the providence of God, 
it be decreed that this Government and this happy Union, the 
affairs of which have been hitherto so successfully directed by 
it, are to be put to the final test, the Government and people of 
this State will meet the crisis with the sustaining consciousness, 
that they have done all that duty enjoined and honor permitted 
to avert the worst calamity that could befall the country. 

The Committee respectfully suggest, for the consideration of 
the Legislature, the following resolutions. 



RESOLVES. 



State of Keto ¥otlfe. 



In Senate, February 16th, 1833. 

Resolved, (if the Assembly concur,) That we approve of the 
general views and conclusions of the preceding Report. 

Resolved, (if the Assembly concur,) That we regard the Union 
of these States as indispensable to their prosperity and happi- 
ness : that we participate fully in the desire which has been 
manifested by the President, to restore harmony, and conciliate 
affection amongst all the people of the United States, by a sea- 
sonable and equitable modification of the Tariff", adapting it to 
the present condition of the country : that we approve the mea- 
sures he has adopted and recommended to sustain the authority 
and execute the laws of the United States ; and that the Govern- 
ment and people of this State will cordially co-operate with him 
in the exercise of all the means which may be necessary and 
proper to secure those objects. 

Resolved, (if the Assembly concur,) That we regard thi right 
of a single State, to make void within its limits the laws of 
the United States, as set forth in the Ordinance of South Caro- 
lina, as wholly unauthorized by the Constitution of the United 
States, and in its tendency subversive of the Union and the Gov- 
ernment thereof 

Resolved, (if the Assembly concur,) That we do dissent from 
the doctrine, that a single State has a right to withdraw itself 
from the Union against the wishes of its co-States, whenever in 



159 

its sole judgment the acts of the Federal Government shall be 
such as to justify the step. 

Resolved, (if the Assembly concur,) That the Governor be re- 
quested to transmit a copy of the foregoing Report and Resolu- 
tions, to the Executive of the State of South Carolina, and to the 
Executives of the other States respectively, to the end that they 
may be communicated to the Legislatures thereof, and also a 
copy of the same to the President of the United States, and to 
each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress. 

By order, 

J. F. BACON, 

Clerk of the Senate. 

In Assembly, February 23d, 1833. 

Resolved, That this House do concur with the Senate, in their 
said Resolutions. 

By order, 

FRANCIS SEGER, 

Clerk of the Assembly. 



\ 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



MEW-JERSEY. 



22 



state of NeUi:iSetse»* 



Whereas the people of the State of South Carolina, in Con- 
vention assembled, have, by an ordinance, dated twenty-fourth 
of November, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, declared and 
ordained that the several acts and parts of acts of the Con- 
gress of these United States, purporting to be laws for the 
imposing of duties and imposts on the importation of foreign 
commodities, are unauthorised by the constitution, violate the 
true intent and meaning thereof, and are null and void and 
not binding upon the said State, its officers or citizens and have 
proclaimed their determination to enforce said ordinance at 
every hazard, denied the authority of the general government 
to enforce the revenue laws within the said State of South 
Carolina, and transmitted a copy of such ordinance, together 
with an appeal to the people of the United States, to the 
Executive of this State: AxVd whereas the high obligations 
we owe to our common country, as a member of this great 
confederacy, as well as the due preservation of the inestima- 
ble privileges we enjoy under this free and happy government, 
secured by the toils and cemented by the blood of our com- 
mon ancestors, has rendered it an imperative duty to proclaim 
our opinions upon this important subject — Therefore, in the 
name and in behalf of the people of the State of New Jer- 
sey, and as their legal representatives, 

1 . Be it Resolved, by the Council and General Assembly of said 
State, That the Constitution adopted and sanctioned by the peo- 
ple of these United States, as well as our early history, our com- 
mon interest, our habits, our intercourse, our love of freedom, 
the honor, strength and durability of our country, proclaim that 



164 

all the States of this Union make one indivisible nation united in 
prosperity and adversity, in peace as in war, by the sacred and 
indissoluble bond of" their Union. 

2. Resolved, That we deprecate the acts and proceedings of 
our brethren of the State of South Carolina, as opposed to the 
fundamental principles upon which the government of these 
United States is based, as violating the spirit and meaning of 
the Federal Constitution, and tending to rend asunder those ties 
of common interest and fraternal regard, of mutual dependance 
and reciprocal obligation, which are alike our pride, our glory, 
and our strength, and which have proclaimed us to the world a 
United People. 

3. Resolved, That when South Carolina, together with all the 
other States, acceded to this Union, and adopted the Constitu- 
tion, she and they became thereby irrevocably bound that all 
controversy upon the constitutionality of an act of Congress, 
should be finally adjudicated by the Supreme Court of these 
United States. The sacred charter of our liberties never con- 
templated that each state had reserved to itself an ultimate ap- 
peal to its own citizens in their sovereign capacity. 

4. Resolved, That the manufactures of America, are one of the 
elements of our Independence and greatness ; not oppressing 
but advancing hand in hand with agriculture and commerce. 
These three sources of National prosperity, demand equally the 
fostering protection of Government ; to crush either would be 
to paralyze all ; and to the General Government, alone, standing 
on an elevation to survey the whole ground, belongs the infor- 
mation, the wisdom, and the power to apportion just patronage 
wherever circumstances may require. 

5. Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States, now 
contains within itself, an ample provision for its amendment, and 
for the remedy of every evil which may arise from unforeseen 
events, or ambiguous construction. When this provision shall 
be legally called into operation, we shall be prompt to concede 
all to justice, much to fraternal feeling, and somewhat even to 
local excitement and mistaken enthusiasm. But it cannot com- 
port either with dignity or sound policy to yield aught in the 
face of threatened disunion and an armed resistance to the 
laws. 



165 

6. Resolved, That the principles contained in the Proclama- 
tion, and late Message of the President of the United States, 
meet our entire approbation ; and that we will sustain the Chief 
Magistrate of the Union in the Constitutional enforcement of 
these principles. 

7. Resolved, That we implore our Fellow Citizens of South 
Carolina, allied as they are to us, by all the heart stiring and in- 
spiriting recollections of the eventful struggle, that made us an 
independent nation, maturely to ponder over the present crisis 
in their affairs, and magnanimously to return to more temperate 
councils, and a juster sense of that obedience to the general 
will which constitutes the lasting security, and should be the 
glory and the ornament of every member of this confederacy. 
But should our fellow citizens of South Carolina, contrary to 
our reasonable expectations, unsheath the sword, it becomes our 
solemn and imperative duty to declare, that no separate nation 
ought or can be suffered to intrude into the very centre of our 
Territory. 

8. Resolved, That the Governor be requested to transmit a 
copy of these resolutions to the President of the United States, 
to each Senator and Representative in Congress, from this State, 
and to the Governors of the respective States of the Union. 

House of Assembly, February 18th, 1833. 

These re-engrossed Joint Resolutions having been three times 
read in the House of Assembly. 

Resolved, That the same do pass. 

By order of the House. 

JOHN P. JACKSON, Speaker of Assembly. 

In Council, February 18th, 1833. 

These re-engrossed Joint Resolutions having been three times 
read in the Council and compared. 

Resolved, That the same do pass. 

By order of Council. 

ELI AS P. SEELEY, Vice President. 



166 

I, James D. Westcott, Secretary of the State of New-Jer- 
sey, do certify, that the foregoing is a true copy of the Joint 
Resolutions of the Legislative Council and General Assembly 
of the State of New-Jersey, passed February 18th, A. D. one 
thousand eight hundred and thirty three, as compared with the 
original, now remaining on file in my office. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed 
the seal of my said office, at the city of Trenton, in said 
State, this 18th day of February, A. D. one thousand 
eight hundred and thirty-three. 

JAMES D. WESTCOTT. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



PEW[]\SYLVA1\IA 



J 



RESOLVES 

Relative to the Union of the States and the Constitution of the 
United States. 

Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the Com- 
moniuealth of Pennsylvania, in General Jlssembly met, That the 
Constitution of the United States, and the laws of the United 
States made in pursuance of the Constitution, are the supreme 
law of the land, to which every citizen of the United States owes 
obedience ; and that no authority whatever can release him 
from his obligation to obey, or require him to take any oath, or 
enter into any engagement inconsistent with such obligation; 
and that any pretension on the part of a State, or any portion 
thereof, so to release any citizen of the United States, or so to 
require of him, is unconstitutional, and without the least foun- 
dation of right, and can afford neither shelter nor excuse for 
offences he may commit against the laws of the United States. 

Resolved, That no portion of the citizens of the United States, 
have a rightful power to render invalid an act of the Congress 
of the United States, duly made by the people's representatives, 
and approved by the Executive, in the mode prescribed by the 
Constitution ; nor to nullify the same, either generally, or with- 
in particular districts ; but that every such act of Congress con- 
tinues in full force every where within the United States, not- 
withstanding any such asserted nullification ; and all persons 
who resist its execution, ofiend against the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, and are liable to prosecution and 
punishment for such offence. 
I Resolved, That no State has a right to withdraw from the 
j Union, and to declare itself independent of it; and that every 
I attempt to do so, would be a virtual infraction of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, justifj^'wj^ and requiring the use of 
constitutional measures to suppress ft^ 

i " X 



170 

Resolved That the faithful execution of all laws of the United 
States, made in the mode prescribed by the Constitution, is a 
duty enjoined upon the President of the United States, in the 
constitutional discharge of which he is entitled to, and ought to 
receive the aid and support of every citizen of the Union. 

Resolved, That it is the clear and indisputable right of Con- 
gress, to impose duties upon importations, and of the Govern- 
ment of the United States to collect the duties payable by law 
upon goods imported into every part of the Union ; and that 
every resistance to the collection of the same, is an offence 
against the Constitution and laws of the United States, and that 
the offenders are liable to prosecution and punishment for such 
offence. 

Resolved, That in enforcing, by all constitutional means, the 
laws passed by Congress, for imposing and collecting duties 
upon goods imported into the United States, and all other acts 
of the Congress of the United States; and in bringing to pun- 
ishment all persons, who, under any pretence, may offer resist- 
ance to them, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will, if neces- 
sary, aid and assist the Government of the United States, by all 
the means in her power. 

Resolved, That we pledge ourselves, jointly and individually 
to sustain the Chief Magistrate of the United States, in all con- 
stitutional measures calculated to preserve and perpetuate the 
union of the States. 

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to transmit a copy 
of these Resolutions to the President of the United States, and 
to each Senator and Representative in Congress from this Com- 
monwealth, and to the several Governors of the respective 
Stales and Territories of these United States. 



SAMUEL ANDERSON, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

JESSE R. BURDEN, 

Speaker of the Senate. 



17 



Approved, the twentieth day of December, A. D. one thou- 
sand eight hundred and thirty-two. 

GEO. WOLF. 



Secretary's Office, Pennsylvania, ) 
Harrisburg, December 21, 1832. ) 

This is to certify, that the foregoing Resolutions are truly 
copied from the original roll in this office. 

Witness my hand and seal. 

SAML, M'KEAN. 



RESOLVES 



L E GISLATURE 



DELAWARE. 



REPORT 



The Committee to whom was referred so much of the Governor's 
Message as relates to the communication from the Governor 
of the State of South Carolina, respectfully submit the following 

REPORT: 

The communication from the Governor of South Carolina is 
composed of documents ordered by a Convention of the people 
of that State, held in November last, to be transmitted to the 
Governors of the several States for the information of their re- 
spective Legislatures. These documents consist of a report of 
a Committee of twenty-one, to the Convention, on the subject 
of the several acts of Congress imposing duties for the protec- 
tion of domestic manufactures, with the Ordinance to Nullify 
the same, an address to the people of that State, and an address 
to the people of the United States. Your Committee have ex- 
amined the papers with great care, and with that respectful at- 
tention which is due to the source from which they emanate, but 
they cannot disguise their astonishment at the position assumed 
by the Convention and the arguments by which it is attempted 
to be sustained. The position taken by the Convention is, that 
they have a right to suspend the operation of certain acts of 
Congress within the limits of the State by declaring those acts 
null and void, on the ground of their supposed unconstitutional- 
ity. This extraordinary right is assumed not as a revolutionary 
measure, but as one that results from the nature of the compact, 
created by the Constitution, and as in perfect harmony with its 
principles. It becomes necessary, therefore, to settle distinctly, 



176 

the nature of that instrument, in order to decide the question of 
this right. 

The ground taken by the Convention on this subject is, " that 
the Federal Constitution is a treaty, a confederation, an alliance, 
by which so many sovereign States agree to exercise their sove- 
reign powers conjointly, upon certain objects of external con- 
cern, in which they are equally interested." That the Federal 
Government is the common agency of the sovereign States, and 
possesses no more inherent sovereignty than an incorporated 
town, that it is a mere political corporation, " and that it is the 
moral obligation alone which each state has chosen to impose 
on herself, and not the want of sovereignty" which restrains her 
from exercising all those powers which have been granted to the 
Federal Government. And this is declared by the Convention 
to be the true nature of the compact. The principle with which 
they set out, and upon which the whole doctrine is buiit, is thus 
laid ^down in the address to the people of the State — page 4. 
"The Constitution of the United States, as is admitted by co- 
temporaneous writers, is a compact between sovereign States." 
This is the corner stone of the whole system of Nullification. 
For if it be true that the Constitution is a mere treaty or com- 
pact between sovereign States, which now possess all the sove- 
reignty they ever had, and among whom there can be no com- 
mon arbiter, the rest of the doctrine follows as a matter of 
course. The question then arises, is this proposition true.'' 
Your Committee conceive that it is false in both its branches. It 
is neither a compact between sovereign States, nor is so admitted 
to be, by cotemporaneous writers, at least of any credit. 

The first and most natural source to look to, for the settle- 
ment of this question, is the instrument itself. Since it is appa- 
rent that it would be utterly useless to reduce an agreement or 
compact to writing, that it would be useless to establish a writ- 
ten constitution for any government or any people, if the crude 
notions and wild conceits of any individual may be substituted 
for the terms of the instrument. This is more particularly true 
with regard to such an instrument as the Constitution of the 
United States, which was the work, in the first instance, of a 
general convention from the diflcrent States, and was afterwards 
submitted to the conventions of the people in each of the States. 



177 

So that not a word or letter, and certainly not a single principle 
contained in it can be supposed to have escaped the severest 
srcutiny, and the whole must therefore have the highest sanction. 
.Upon opening that instrument, the first principle which pre- 
sents itself is, that it purports to be the act of the American 
people. It is not stated to be a compact between New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the other ten sovereign 
States, and which would have been the appropriate, and indeed 
the only preamble, if the idea intended to be conveyed was, that 
of a compactor treaty between those sovereign States; but on 
the contrary, it is declared to be the act of the American peo- 
ple. The language is, "We the people of the United States do 
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of 
America." The principle here established is, that the govern- 
ment created by that Constitution is the act of the people of the 
United States, and not the act of the States, as sovereignties. 
As this principle lies at the foundation of the whole system, it is 
impossible that it should have escaped the attention of the Gen- 
eral Convention, and of the thirteen State conventions which 
passed upon it. ^They could not have been ignorant of, or inat- 
tentive to, the difference of the two principles involved in the 
question, whether the instrument to which they assented, was a 
Constitution of Government to be established by the people, or a 
treaty or compact between thirteen sovereign States. To sup- 
pose them ignorant, is to suppose them incompetent to their 
task, and to suppose them inattentive, is to suppose them culpa- 
bly negligent of their duty. But we will show that they were 
neither the one or the other. 

The very first question, as might naturally be supposed, that 
presented itself to the General Convention was, whether the 
Constitution they were about to form should be a compact 
among the States, or the act of the people. The particular busi- 
ness of the Convention was opened by Governor Randolph, who 
submitted to their consideration, on the 29th May, 1787, various 
resohitions, with a view to settle the principles on which they 
were to proceed. The first of those resolutions was in these 
words — "Resolved, that the articles of confederation ought to 
be so corrected and enlarged as to accomplish the objects pro- 
posed by their institution, namely, common defence, security of 
24 



178 

liberty and general welfare." — Elliott's Debates, vol. 4, p. 41J^ 
Now it must be recollected that the articles of confederation 
were, in point of fact, and in terms, a compact between the dif- 
ferent States as sovereignties. The instrument itself purports 
to be such, and is described in the preamble as " Articles of 
confederation and perpetual union between the States of New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence 
Plantations," &c. As Governor Randolph's proposition was 
merely to correct and enlarge those articles, if it had been adop- 
ed, the nature of the conipact would have been the same, and 
it would have continued to stand on the footing of an agreement 
among the States as sovereignties. The very point now at issue 
was therefore brought at once, and directly before the Conven- 
tion. On the same day the Convention resolved to go into 
Committee of the whole, on the State of the Union, and the pro- 
positions of Governor Randolph were referred to that Commit- 
tee. On the following day, May 30th, these resolutions were 
taken up for consideration, and the particular one in question 
being the first in order, was, on his own motion, postponed ; and 
another, offered likewise by him, was, after debate, adopted as a 
substitute, in the following words : " Resolved that a National 
Government ought to be established, consisting of a Supreme 
Legislative, Judiciary, and Executive." On this question, six 
States, namely, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virgin- 
ia, North Carolina and South Carolina voted in the affirmative; 
Connecticut voted in the negative, and New York was divided. 
Elliott's Debates, vol. 4, p. 49. Mr. Yates, a member of the 
Convention from New York, who was opposed to the present 
Constitution, and afterwards withdrew from the Convention be- 
cause he thought they were exceeding their powers, kept min- 
utes of the debates while he was there, which are published in 
the fourth volume of Elliott's Debates, and has thus thrown much 
light on the questions that were agitated ; and may be consider- 
ed for that purpose, as of the highest authority, in his minutes 
of the debate on that day, he observes, " this last resolve had its 
diiTiculiies, the term supreme required explanation. It was ask- 
ed whether it was intended to annihilate the State Governments ? 
It was answered only so far as the powers intended to be granted 
to the new government should clash with the States, when the 



179 

latter should yield." — Yates' Minutes, p. 50. It was thus decided 
that the articles of confederation should be laid aside, and the 
principle of a compact among the States as sovereignties aban- 
doned. Accordingly, we find that on the Gth June following, 
when the fourth resolution offered by Governor Randolph, was 
under consideration, which provided that the members of the 
first branch of the National Legislature should be elected by the 
people, a motion having been made to strike out the word 
" people," and substitute the word " Legislatures," of the several 
States, the motion was lost by a vote of eight States to three. 
In the debate on that point, Mr. Madison is reported by Mr. 
Yates, to have observed " that when we agreed to the first re- 
solve of having a National Government, consisting of a Supreme 
Executive, Judicial and Legislative power, it was then intended 
to operate to the exclusion of a Federal Government, and the 
more extensive we made the basis, the greater probability of du- 
ration, happiness and order." — Yates' Minutes, p. 63. 

The first resolution was afterwards modified so as to read thus : 
" Resolved that the Government of the United States ought to 
consist of a Supreme Legislative, Judiciary and Executive." 
The reason for which is stated by Mr. Luther Martin, one of the 
delegates from Maryland, and a most determined opponent of the 
proposed system at the time, to have been that they were afraid 
that the word national might tend to alarm. — Yates' Minutes, 
p. 22. 

The principle was thus therefore clearly established and re- 
mained unchanged, that the new government was not to be 
placed on the footing of a compact among the States as sove- 
reigns ; but was to emanate from the people and be established 
by their authority, On the twenty-third of July the resolution 
thus modified, was, together with the others which had been 
elaborated in the debate that had been carried on in the Com- 
mittee of the whole, referred to a Committee of five for the pur- 
pose of reporting a Constitution. It is evident that the Com- 
mittee appointed for the purpose, were bound, in drafting the 
instrument, to preserve that fundamental principle. Accordingly, 
on the 6th of August, the Committee reported the' draught of a 
Constitution, the preamble to which began in these words : " We 
the people of the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, &c. 



180 

do ordain and establish the following Constitution for the gov- 
ernment of ourselves and our posterity." — Elliot's Debates, vol. 
4, p. 116. . The principle was here distinctly set forth, but as it 
might have afforded some room for cavil, and it was determined 
that there should not be a loop to hang a doubt upon, the phra- 
seology was changed, and that of the present Constitution adopt- 
jed, "We the people of the United States," &lc7 ' If it is possi- 
ble for human language or for human conduct to express the 
intentions of the mind, nothing can be clearer than the inten- 
tion of the General Convention on this point. If regard then 
be had to the instrument itself, it is, and it purports to be, a 
Constitution of Government established by the people of the 
United States. For this purpose it was not at all necessary that 
they should be assembled in one body, in one place, or by one 
authority. It was sufficient for them to assemble in their respec- 
tive states, at their usual places of election, and under the usu- 
al authority. When once assembled and they proceeded to rat- 
ify the instrument, it became to all intents and purposes their act. 
Nor does it at all affect the question that it was provided, that 
the ratification of a certain number of the States should be ne- 
cessary for its establishment. That was a mere condition which 
amounted to no more than a declaration, that the experiment 
was not worth the trial, unless such a portion of the people 
should concur. So far as this particular subject is concerned, 
the term States is a mere description of the people by classes, 
and is of no more moment in the argument than if the provision 
had been, that it should not take effect unless ratified by two 
millions of people, or by two hundred and forty counties, or one 
hundred districts. The provision was a condition precedent 
which ceased to be of importance the moment it was ful- 
filled. 

The tenth amendment of that Constitution which provides 
that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the 
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to 
the States respectively or to the people," illustrates and confirms 
the view here taken of the character of the instrument and the 
source of its authority. But if in addition to this, the frame of 
government be considered which deprives the States of almost 
all the essential rights of sovereignty, and makes them amena- 



181 

ble to the tribunals of the United States' Government, whose 
decisions are conclusive in relation to all controversies arising 
under the Constitution or laws of the United States, it becomes 
a matter of surprise that any doubt should have been expressed 
on the subject. 

It thus appears that the Constitution is not a treaty or com- 
pact between sovereign States, and it remains to show that such 
was the opinion of cotemporaneous writers. Reference has al- 
ready been made to the work of Mr. Yates who was a member 
of the Convention from New York, and whose minutes of the 
debates are of the highest degree of authenticity, and which in 
the passage already cited, as well as in others, confirms the po- 
sition taken by ydur Committee. In the debate on the 29th June, 
the first clause of the seventh proposition being under consider- 
ation, which respected the suffrage of each State in the first 
branch of the Legislature, Mr. Madison who was so much re- 
lied on by the Carolina Convention as an authority, in the cele- 
brated resolutions of 1798, expressed himself as follows, as re- 
ported by Mr. Yates : " Some gentlemen are afraid that the plan is 
not sufficiently national, while others apprehend that it is too 
much so. If this point of representation was once well fixed, we 
would come nearer to one another in sentiment. The necessity 
would then be discovered of circumscribing more effectually the 
State governments, and enlarging the bounds of the general 
government. Some contend that States are sovereigns, when in 
fact, they are only political societies. There is a gradation of 
power in all societies, from the lowest corporation to the highest 
sovereign. The States never possessed the essential rights of 
sovereignty. These were always vested in Congress. Their 
voting as States in Congress, is no evidence of sovereignty. 
The State of Maryland voted by counties — did this make the 
counties sovereign ? The States at present are only great cor- 
porations having the power of makmg by-laws, and these are 
effectual only if they are not contradictory to the general con- 
federation. The States ought to be placed under the control of 
the general government. If the power is not immediately de- 
rived from the people, in proportion to their numbers, we may 
make a paper confederacy, but that will be all. We know the 



182 

effects of the Old Confederation, and without a general govern- 
ment this will be like the former," — Yates' Minutes, p. 114. 

In the debate on the 5th June, the last or 15th proposition of 
Governor Randolph, being under consideration, which provided 
that the work of the convention should be submitted to assem- 
blies of representatives to be chosen by the people expressly for 
that purpose. Mr. Yates resports that " Mr. Madison endeavor- 
ed to enforce the necessity of this resolve, because the new 
National Constitution ought to have the highest source of au- 
thority — at least, paramount to the powers of the respective 
constitutions of the States ; points out the mischiefs that had 
arisen in the Old Confederation, which depends upon no higher 
authority than the confirmation of an ordinary act of the Legis- 
lature." — Yates' Minutes, p. 62. 

Mr. Luther Martin, who was a delegate from the State of 
Maryland, in the General Convention, and violently opposed to 
the new system at the time, in his report to the Legislature of 
Maryland, on the subject of the proceedings of the Convention, 
thus details the arguments used by himself and his friends : " It 
was urged, that the Government we were forming, was not in 
reality a Federal, but a National Government, not founded on 
the principles of the preservation, but the abolition or consoli- 
dation of all State governments. That we appeared totally to 
have forgot the business for which we were sent, and the situa- 
tion of the country for which we were preparing our system. 
That we had not been sent to form a Government over the in- 
habitants of America, considered as individuals, that as individ- 
uals they were all subject to their respective State governments, 
which governments would still remain, though tlie Federal 
Government should be dissolved. That the system of govern- 
ment we were entrusted to prepare, was a government over 
these thirteen States ; but that in our proceedings, we adopted 
principles which would be right and proper only on the suppo- 
sition that there were no State governments at all, but that all 
the inhabitants of this extensive continent were in their individ- 
ual capacity without government, and in a state of nature. 
That, accordingly, the system proposes the Legislature to con- 
sist of two branches, the one to be drawn from the people at 
large, immediately in their individual capacity, the other to be 



183 

chosen in a more select manner, as a check upon the first. It 
is in its very introduction, declared to be a compact between 
the people of the United States, as individuals ; and it is to be 
ratified by the people at large in their capacity as individuals ; 
all which it was said would be quite right and proper, if there 
were no State governments, if all the people of this continent 
were in a state of nature, and we were forming one National 
Government for them as individuals, and is nearly the same as 
was done in most of the States, when they formed their govern- 
ments over the people who compose them." — Yates' Minutes, 
pages 19, 20. Notwithstanding these arguments, the Constitu- 
tution was prepared and adopted on the principles which were 
thus opposed ; arid we have here the commentary of one of the 
ablest lawyers that this country ever produced, who was him- 
mself a member of the Convention, and opposed to the system, 
upon that very instrument ; and putting it beyond all doubt and 
controversy, that it was the design of the Convention to abandon 
the principle of a compact among the States as sovereigns, and 
substitute for it, that of a government established by the people. 
The same view of the subject is presented in the Federalist, a 
work which was written at the time for the express purpose of 
explaining and recommending the new Constitution, and which 
was the joint production of three ofihe ablest men of the day, and 
has been regarded and relied upon, both in and out of Congress, 
and even in the courts of justice, as presenting a most able, au- 
thentic, and correct exposition of its principles. The conclu- 
sion of the twenty-second number, in which some of the evils 
of the Old Confederation, are pointed out, is as follows : " It has 
not a little contributed to the infirmities of the existing Federal 
system, that it never had a ratification by the people. Resting 
on no better foundation than the consent of the several Legisla- 
tures, it has been exposed to frequent and intricate questions 
concerning the validity of its powers; and has, in some in- 
stances, given birth to the enormous doctrine of a right of legis- 
lative repeal. Owing its ratification to the law of a State, it has 
been contended that the same authority might repeal the law 
by which it was ratified. However gross a heresy it may be, to 
maintain that a party to a compact has a right to revoke that 
compact, the doctrine itself has had respectable advocates 



184 

The possibility of a question of this nature, proves the necessity 
of laying the foundations of our National Government deeper 
than in the mere sanction of delegated authority. The fabric 
of the American empire, ought to rest on the solid basis of the 
consent of the people. The streams of national power ought to 
flow immediately from that pure original fountain of all legiti- 
mate authority." 

It is unnecessary to multiply quotations. The question is 
not under what name the Government established by the Con- 
stitution would be classed by political writers ; whether it would 
be called a Federal Government, or a National Government, or 
a compound of the two — but simply from whom does it derive 
its powers ? whether from the States as sovereigns.^ or from the 
people ^ It thus appears from the Constitution itself, from the 
journal of the Convention, from the debates on its proceedings, 
from the reports of its enemies, and from the arguments of its 
friends, that the principle on which it was founded, was, that it 
was to be a government emanating from, and established by the 
people. If any thing more were wanting to make assurance 
doubly sure, the ratification by the State of Virginia, where 
more opposition was experienced than in any other State, and 
more debate was had on the subject, the solemn act of ratifica- 
tion by that State recognizes the fact in so many words. It is 
as follows : 

" We, the delegates of the people of V'^irginia, &.c. do, in the 
name and behalf of the people of Virginia, declare and make 
known, that the powers granted under the Constitution, being 
derived from the people of the United States, may be resumed 
by them, whensoever the same shall be perverted to their injury 
or oppression ; and that every power not granted thereby, re- 
mains with them, and at their will," &,c. — Elliott's Debates, vol. 
4, p. 215. 

It is thus established beyond a doubt, whether we regard the 
instrument itself, or its cotemporaneous history, that the Consti- 
tution is a form of government established by the people, and 
not a compact or treaty among the States. If this be true, then 
the whole system of nullification topples into ruin. 

The principle on which that system is built, is, that the Con- 
stitution is a treaty between sovereign States and the General 



185 

Government — an agency for them. The moment this founda- 
tion is destroyed, the whole system of reasoning fails with it. 
If the General Government be one, established by the people of 
the United States, then they owe it allegiance, and may be 
guilty of treason towards it. Its laws are supreme, and no por- 
tion of the people ran abrogatR them. The State Gf»vernments 
are component but subordinate parts of the system. They areas 
necessary and useful in their sphere as the General Government, 
but that portion of the people of the United States, who consti- 
tute a particular State, can have no more right to nullify or sus- 
pend a law of the United States, than a smaller portion of them, 
as a county of a particular State, or than any individual : in 
other words, the union of any number, whether great or small, 
can give no greater or other right than that which belongs to 
each individual, as a constitutional measure. It is to be recol- 
lected, that the ground taken by the Nullification Party, is, that 
Nullification is a right consistent with the Constitution, and 
peaceable in its nature. In order to sustain that position, it 
was essential to show that the Constitution is a treaty between 
sovereign States, and that in such case there could be no com- 
mon arbiter, but that each was entitled to construe the instru- 
ment for itself, and was bound only by moral obligation to ob- 
serve its stipulations, and was therefore the judge of their 
infraction, and of the measure and mode of redress. But so far 
from this being true, it has been shown that the Constitution is 
a form of government established by the people of the United 
States; and having provided a tribunal for the settlement of all 
controversies arising under its provisions, or the laws of the 
United States, it necessarily follows, that no other mode of de- 
cision can be resorted to as consonant with its principles. 

If the ground had been taken, that it was a revolutionary 
measure, and justified on the great principle of self-preservation, 
it would have had the merit of being intelligible; and, if true, 
would have enlisted the sympathies of other States, and, indeed, 
of other nations. In such a case it would be an appeal to arms, 
and the legal consequences of such a step would have to be 
met. The case would then be one of an msurrection of a por- 
tion of the people against the Government, in consequence of 
alleged oppression. But it was clearly seen, that the t'eal state 
25 



186 

of the case would not justify such a measure. It was clearly 
seen, that neither the rest of the people of the United States, nor 
any portion of the world, could be made to believe that in the 
midst of so much general happiness and prosperity, in a time of 
profound peace, with an overflowing treasury, and under such a 
Government as that of tiie United States, such a case of oppress- 
ion could be made out, as would justify rebellion. It was there- 
fore necessary to resort to this doctrine of nullification, for the 
purpose of disguising the real nature of the measure, and to give 
to a contemplated resistance the air of constitutional right. 
The act of nullification is, itself, nullity, and the consequences 
are treason. 

The State governments, it is true, are sovereign for some 
purposes ; but have, by the Constitution of the United States, 
been stripped of most of the essential attributes of sovereignty — 
such as the right to declare war, make peace, enter into treaties 
and alliances, coin money, &c. It is a matter of no sort of im- 
portance, which instrument happened to precede the other in 
point of time, whether the Constitution of the State, or the 
Constitution of the United States. The latter instrument hav- 
ing been declared the supreme law, and being the work of the 
same people, necessarily controls and abridges any sovereign 
power vested in the State Governments under the State Consti- 
tutions. It is needless to pursue the subject further ; it is apparent 
that the State of South Carolina has no such right as she claims 
under the Constitution. And if she can justify the measure at 
all, it must be on the ground of iniolerable oppression, and the 
unconstitutionality of the acts complained of; but, on this 
ground, the rightn of her whole body of citizens, or any portion 
of them, are no other and no greater than those of the humblest 
individual in the community ; but they cannot trammel up the 
consequences. Their political organization as a State, may 
furnish readier means of resistance and greater probabilities of 
success, but the consequences are the same. They cannot 
sanctify or legalize resistance, and the predicament in which 
the individual may stand, if mistaken in his judgment, is that of 
a traitor to his country. 

The view here taken of the origin of the Government, and the 
nature of the Constitution, is confirmed by the solemn decisions 



187 

of that great tribunal which has been created by that instru- 
ment, and which is the sole and proper one for the settlement of 
all controversies arising under it. The language of the Su- 
preme Court, as delivered by Chief Justice Marshall, in the case 
of M'Cullough against the State of Maryland, is as follows : 
" In discussing this question, the counsel for the State of Mary- 
land have deemed it of some importance in the construction of 
the Constitution, to consider that instrument not as emanating 
from the people, but as the act of sovereign and independent 
States. The powers of the General Government, it has been 
said, are delegated by the States, who alone are truly sove- 
reign ; and must be exercised in subordination to the States, 
who alone possess supreme dominion. It would be difficult to 
sustain this proposition. The Convention which framed the 
Constitution, was indeed elected by the State Legislatures. 
But the instrument, when it came from their hands, was a mere 
proposal, without obligations or pretentions to it. It was re- 
ported to the then existing Congress of the United States, with 
a request that it might ' be submitted to a Convention of Dele- 
gates chosen in each State, by the people thereof, under the 
recommendation of its Legislature, for their assent and ratifica- 
tion.' This mode of proceeding was adopted ; and by the Con- 
vention, by Congress, and by the State Legislatures, the instru- 
ment was submitted to the people. They acted upon it in the 
only manner in which they can act safely, efiectually, and wisely 
on such a subject, by assembling in Convention. It is true, 
they assembled in their several States — and where else should 
they have assembled ? No political dreamer was ever wild 
enough to think of breaking down the lines which separate the 
States, and of compounding the American people into one com- 
mon mass. Of consequence, when they act, they act in their 
States. But the measures they adopt, do not on that account 
cease to be the measures of the people themselves, or become 
the measures of the State Governments. From these conven- 
tions the Constitution derives its whole authority. The Govern- 
ment proceeds directly from the people, is ' ordained and estab- 
lished' in the name of the people ; and is declared to be 
ordained in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, 
ensure domestic tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty 



188 

to themselves and to their posterity." — Wheaton's E,ep. vol. 4, 
p. 403. 

The same principles are recognized as being true in the late 
admirable Proclamation of the President of the United States. 

As to the doctrine of Nullification, your Committee would 
scarcely have considered it worth the trouble of discussion, but 
for the grave sanction that has thus been given to it by the 
Convention of South Carolina. They would have treated it as 
one of those conceits which might have formed the subject of 
debate in a Moot Court of a law school, but would never have 
conceived it possible that it could enter into the business reali- 
ties of life. 

Under the view which had been taken of the subject, it is 
scarcely necessary to inquire into the grounds of complaint, 
since they are not deemed strong enough, even on the part of the 
Convention, to warrant a revolutionary measure — or, in other 
words, rebellion ; and the particular subject of attention under 
the communication, is the attitude assumed by the State on the 
ground of her sovereign power. 

But your Committee cannot forbear from expressing the opin- 
ion, that their views of political economy are as erroneous as 
their constitutional principles. They conceive that it would be 
no difficult matter to show that the distress of South Carolina 
may be imputed to very different causes than those assigned, 
and might be traced with much more semblance of reason, 
among other causes, to the increased production of their prin- 
cipal staple, both here and in other parts of the world ; but 
your Committee refrain from touching further on this subject. 
They cannot perceive that the people of South Carolina have 
any constitutional cause of complaint. If there is distress 
among them, it is a matter in which we deeply sympathize. 
But if in the due administration of the General Government, any 
measure has borne hardly upon them, we know of but one rem- 
edy under the Constitution and Laws, and that is in the exercise 
of the elective franchise. 

Your Committee abstain from the expression of any hopes or 
wishes on the subject, they lament the delusion under which 
they believe a portion of the people of that State labor. But 
they are free to say, that as the people of this State were the 



189 

first to adopt the present Government, they will be the last to 
abandon it ; and that whenever and wherever the exigency may 
arise they will be found on the side of the Constitution and the 
Country. 

Your Committee therefore report the following Resolutions : 



RESOLVESo 



Whereas, a Convention, of the people of the State of South 
Carolina has undertaken, by an ordinance passed in November 
last, to declare certain acts of Congress, for imposing duties and 
imposts on the importation of foreign commodities, null and 
void, and not binding on the State, its officers and citizens ; and 
has prohibited the enforcement of those laws within the limits of 
that State, and has also prohibited any appeal from the decisions 
of the State Courts, wherein the authority of the ordinance shall 
be drawn in question, to the United States Courts : And 
whereas, this measure has been communicated by order of the 
Convention to the Governor of this State, for the purpose of be- 
ing laid before the Legislature, and it is expedient that the 
sense of the people of this State should be expressed in relation 
thereto — Therefore, 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State 
of Delaivare, in General Assembly 7net, That the Constitution of 
the United States is not a treaty or compact between sovereign 
States, but a form of Government emanating from, and estab- 
lished by, the authority of the people of the United States of 
America. 

Resolved, That the Government of the United States, although 
one of limited powers, is supreme within its sphere, and that the 
people of the United States owe to it an allegiance which can- 
not be withdrawn, either by individuals or masses of individuals, 
without its consent. 

Resolved, That the Supreme Court of the United States is the 
only and proper tribunal for the settlement, in the last resort, of 
controversies in relation to the Constitution and the Laws of Con- 
gress. 

Resolved, That if in the regular action of the Government, 
mischief of any kind be produced, the proper remedy is to be 
found in the elective franchise, and the responsibility of its offi- 
cers. 



191 

Resolved, That in cases of gross and intolerable oppression, 
which in a Government like that of the United States, can be 
little else than a hypothesis, the natural right of self defence re- 
mains ; but which must, in the nature of things, be an appeal to 
arms, and subject to, all the consequences of resistance to the 
constituted authorities. In such a case the measure is revolu- 
tionary, and the result remains in the hands of the Almighty. 

Resolved, That the Convention of South Carolina can have no 
other or greater right to annul or resist the laws of Congress, 
than any assemblage of an equal number of individuals in any 
part of the United States ; nor can any assemblage, however 
large, have any other or greater right, for such a purpose, than 
belongs to each individual citizen, considered as a constitutional 
measure. 

Resolved, That it is a subject of regret, that such a delusion 
should exist among any portion of the citizens of that State, 
towards whom the people of this State, entertain the kindest 
feelings, with whom they stood side by side in the war of the 
revolution, and in whose defence their blood was freely spilt. 
But if the measure which has been adopted is intended as the 
precursor of resistance to the government, the people of Dela- 
ware will not falter in their allegiance, but will be found now as 
then, true to their country and its government. 

Resolved, That we cordially respond to the sentiments on this 
subject, contained in the able Proclamation of the President of 
the United States, and shall be at all times prepared to support 
the Government in the exercise of its constitutional rights, and 
in the aischarge of its constitutional duties. 

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to transmit a copy 
of these Resolutions and the accompanying Report of the Com- 
mittee to the President of the United States, to each of our 
Senaiors and our Representatives in Congress, and to the Gov- 
ernors of the respective States and Territories of the United 
States of America. 

JOSHUA BURTON, 

Speaker of the Senate. 
THOMAS DAVIS, 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Passed at Dover, January 16th, 1833. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



VIRGIWflA 



36 



RESOLVES. 



Whereas, the General Assembly of Virginia, actuated by an 
ardent desire to preserve the peace and harmony of our common 
country — relying upon the sense of justice of the people of each 
and every State of the Union, as a sufficient pledge that their 
'Representatives in Congress, will so modify the acts laying du- 
ties and imposts on the importation of foreign commodities, 
commonly called the Tariff Acts, that they will no longer fur- 
nish cause of complaint to the people of any particular State ; 
believing, accordingly, that the people of South Carolina are 
mistaken in supposing that Congress will yield them no relief 
from the pressure of those acts, especially as the auspicious ap- 
proach of the extinguishment of the public debt affords a just 
ground for the indulgence of a contrary expectation ; and con- 
fident that they are too strongly attached to the union of the 
States, to resort to any proceedings which might dissolve or en- 
danger it, whilst they have any fair hope of obtaining their ob- 
ject by more regular and peaceful measures ; persuaded, also, 
that they will listen willingly and respectfully to the voice of 
Virginia, earnestly and affectionately requesting and entreating 
them to rescind or suspend their late Ordinance, and await the 
i result of a combined and strenuous effort of the friends of union 
j and peace, to affect an adjustment and reconciliation of all pub- 
lic differences now unhappily existing ; regarding, moreover, an 
appeal to force on the part of the General Government, or on 
the part of the Government of South Carolina, as a measure 
wliich nothing but extreme necessity could justify or excuse in 
either ; but, apprehensive at the same time, that if the present 
state of things is allowed to continue, acts of violence will oc- 
cur, which may lead to consequences that all would deplore, 
cannot but deem it a solemn duty to interpose and mediate be- 



196 

tween the high contending parties, by the declaration of their 
opinions and wishes, which they trust that both will consider and 
respect. Therefore, 

1. Resolved, by the General Assembly, in the name and on behalf of 
the people of Virginia, That the competent authorities of South 
Carolina be, and they are hereby earnestly and respectfully re- 
quested and entreated to rescind the Ordinance of the late Con- 
vention of that State, entitled " An Ordinance to Nullify certain 
Acts of the Congress of the United States, purporting to be laws 
laying duties and imposts on the importation of foreign com- 
modities ;" or, at least to suspend its operation until the close of 
the first session of the next Congress. 

2. Resolved, That the Congress of the United States be, and 
they are hereby earnestly and respectfully requested and entreat- 
ed, so to modify the Acts laying duties and imposts on the impor- 
tation of foreign commodities, commonly called the Tariff Acts, 
as to effect a gradual but speedy reduction of the resulting reve- 
nue of the General Government, to the standard of the necessary 
and proper expenditure for the support thereof. 

3. Resolved, That the people of Virginia expect, and in the 
opinion of the General Assembly, the people of the other States 
have a right to expect, that the General Government, and the 
Government of South Carolina, and all persons acting under the 
authority of either, will carefully abstain from any and all acts 
whatever, which may be calculated to disturb the tranquillity of 
the country, or endanger the existence of the Union. 

And, whereas, considering the opinions which have been ad- 
vanced and maintained by the Convention of South Carolina, in 
its late Ordinance and Addresses, on the one hand, and by the 
President of the United States, in his Proclamation, bearing 
date the 10th day of December, 1832, on the other, the Gene- 
ral Assembly deem it due to themselves, and the people whom 
they represent, to declare and make known their own views in 
relation to some of the important and interesting questions 
which these papers present. Therefore, 

4. Resolved by the General Assembly, That they continue to 
regard the doctrines of State Sovereignly and State Rights, as 



197 

set forth in the Resolutions of 1798, and sustained by the Re- 
port thereon of 1799, as a true interpretation of the Constitution 
of the United States, and of the powers therein given to the 
General Government ; but that they do not consider them as 
sanctioning the proceedings of South Carolina, indicated in her 
said Ordinance ; nor as countenancing all the principles as- 
sumed by the President in his said Proclamation — many of 
which are in direct conflict with them. 

5. Resolved, That this House will, by joint vote with the Sen- 
ate, proceed on this day to elect a Commissioner, whose duty it 
shall be to proceed immediately to South Carolina, and commu- 
nicate the foregoing Preamble and Resolutions to the Governor 
of that State, with a request that they be communicated to the 
Legislature of that State, or any Convention of its citizens, or 
give them such other direction, as in his judgment may be best 
calculated to promote the objects which this Commonwealth 
has in view ; and that the said Commissioner be authorized 
to express to the public authorities and people of our sister 
State, in such manner as he may deem most expedient, our sin- 
cere good will to our Sister State, and our anxious solicitude 
that the kind and respectful recommendations we have address- 
ed to her, may lead to an accommodation of all the difficulties 
between that State and the General Government. 

6. Resolved,Th^i the Governor of the Commonwealth be, and 
he hereby is requested to communicate the foregoing Preamble 
and Resolutions to the President of the United States, to the 
Governors of the other States, and to our Senators and Repre- 
sentatives in Congress. 

Virginia — City of Richmond, to wit : 

I, George W. Munford, Clerk of the House of Delegates, 
and Keeper of the Rolls of the Commonwealth of Virginia, do 
hereby certify and make known, that the foregoing is a true 
copy of a Preamble and Resolutions adopted by the General 
Assembly of Virginia, on the 26th day of January, 1833. 

Given under my hand, this 8th of February, 1833. 

GEORGE W. MUNFORD, C. H. D 

And Keeper of the Rolls of Virginia. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



WORTH CAROLIl^A. 



RESOLVE^e 



In General Assembly. 

Resolved, That the General Assembly of the State of North 
Carolina doth entertain, and doth unequivocally express a warm 
attachment to the Constitution of the United States. 

Resolved, That the General Assembly doth solemnly declare 
a devoted attachment to the Federal Union, believing that on 
its continuance depend the liberty, the peace and prosperity of 
these United States. 

Resolved, That whatever diversity of opinion may prevail in 
this State, as to the constitutionality of the acts of Congress 
imposing duties on imports for protection, yet, it is believed, a 
large majority of the people think those acts unconstitutional ; 
and they are united in the sentiment, that the existing Tariff is 
impolitic, unjust and oppressive ; and they have urged, and will 
continue to urge its repeal. 

Resolved, That the doctrine of Nullification as avowed by the 
State of South Carolina, and lately promulgated in an Ordinance, 
is revolutionary in its character, subversive of the Constitution of 
the United States and leads to a dissolution of the Union. 

Resolved, That our Senators in Congress be instructed, and 
our Representatives be requested to use all constitutional means 
in their power, to procure a peaceable adjustment of the exist- 
ing controversy between the State of South Carolina and the 
General Government, and to produce a reconciliation between 
the contending parties. 

Resolved further, That a copy of these resolutions, be respect- 
fully communicated by his Excellency the Governor of this State, 
to the President of the United States, the Governors of the sev- 
27 



202 

eral States, and to our Senators and Representatives in Con- 
gress. 

Read three times and ratified in General Assembly, this 5th 
day of January, 1S33. 

LOUTS D. HENRY, S. H. C. 
W. D. MOSELY, S. S. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



/ 
OHIO. 



On the subject of the South Carolina Ordmance. 

Whereas, His Excellency the Governor, has transmitted to 
tiiis General Assembly, the Ordinance of the late Convention of 
the people of South Carolina, together with the proceedings of 
that body, whose object appears to be, a resistance to the collec- 
tion of duties, imposts, &,c. upon foreign commodities, imported 
into that State, by nullifying the acts of Congress, providing for 
the levying and collecting such duties. And this General Assem- 
bly cannot but view, with the deepest regret, the avowed deter- 
mination of a majority of the citizens of the State of South Car- 
olina, to resist the operation of the laws of the General Govern- 
ment, in the manner pointed out by the ordinance adopted by 
their late Convention ; and we have no doubt that such a course, 
if persisted in, must inevitably lead to consequences the most 
disastrous, and ruinous to the peace, prosperity and happiness of 
our common country. 

Being connected, as we are, with our brethren of South Car- 
olina by the strongest ties of consanguinity, and endeared by the 
mutual reciprocity of friendly intercourse and national attach- 
ment, and being sensible of the importance of our connexion 
as States, belonging to the same Federal Union, we cannot but 
deprecate every effort or measure which is calculated, in the re- 
motest degree, to operate to the severance of any of those ties, 
or render doubtful the permanent existence of our Confederacy. 
And entertaining, as we do, the most implicit confidence in the 
wisdom, justice, and integrity of the General Government, we 
are well persuaded that no partial evil would be permitted to ex- 
ist in any particular section of the Union, should it not be appa- 
rent that such evil was fully overbalanced by a general benefit 
afforded by the same policy, out of which that evil was found to 
spring up. Such evils, if such exist, we should endeavor to rem- 
edy in a spirit of moderation and good faith, to the end, that the 



206 

unparalleled prosperity of the whole Union, unequalled as it is, 
in the history of civilized man, may not be intercepted, or paral- 
ized in any of its parts. 

Believing that the prosperity and independence of this Repub- 
lic, mainly depend upon the general peace and harmony which 
ought to exist among the several States, and that all should ever 
keep in view the adopted maxim, "united we stand, divided we 
fall," we feel it a duty, therefore, as American citizens, to cling, 
with pertinacity, to the Constitution of the United States, and to 
the preservation of the Union of the States. We cannot, there- 
fore, view with indifterence, much less can we lend our aid to 
any measure which is calculated to disturb the integrity of that 
Union. 

Resolved, therefore, by the General Assembly of the Stute of Ohioj 
That we view with the deepest regret the unhappy movements, 
and apparent determination of the late Convention of the people of 
South Carolina, to Nullify the Laws of the General Government, 
made in conformity to the Constitution of the United States. 

Resolved, That the Federal Union exists in a solemn compact, 
entered into by the voluntary consent of the people of the United 
States, and of each and every State, and that, therefore, no State 
can claim the right to secede from, or violate that compact, and 
however grievous may be the supposed or real burthens of a 
State, the only legitimate remedy is in the wise and faithful ex- 
ercise of the elective franchise, and the solemn responsibility of 
the public agents. 

Resolved, That the doctrine, that a State has the power to 
Nullify a Law of the General Government, is revolutionary in its 
character, and is, in its nature, calculated to overthrow the great 
Temple of American Liberty. Such a course cannot absolve 
that allegiance which the people of this Union, owe to the su- 
premacy of the laws. 

Resolved, That in levying and collecting duties, imposts and 
excises, whilst the general good should be the primary object, a 
special regard ought to be had to the end, that the interest and 
prosperity of every section of the country, should be equally con- 
sulted, and its burthens proportionably distributed. 

Resolved, That the first object of the American people, should 
be, to cherish the most ardent attachment to the Constitution 



207 

and Laws of this Union ; and as a first and paramount object of 
a free people, we should use every honorable means to preserve 
the honor and integrity of the Union. 

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to transmit copies 
of the foregoing preamble and resolutions to the President of the 
United States, and to the Executives of the several States. 

DAVID T. DISNEY, 

SpeaTcer of the House of Representatives. 

SAMUEL R. MILLER, 

Speaker of the Senate. 
February 25th, 1833. 



208 



RESOLVES 

In relation to a call of a Convention to amend the Constitution 
of the United States. 

Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That in 
the opinion of this General Assembly, it is inexpedient, at the 
present time, to apply to the Congress of the United States, for 
a call of a Convention of the people to amend the Constitution of 
the United States, or to call a Convention of the States to con- 
sider and define questions of disputed powers, which may have 
arisen between any State of this Confederacy and the General 
Government. 

Resolved further, That His Excellency the Governor be, and 
he is hereby requested to transmit copies of the foregoing reso- 
lution to each of the Executives of the several States of this 
Union, for the consideration of the Legislatures thereof. 

DAVID T. DISNEY, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

SAMUEL R. MILLER. 

Speaker of the Senate, 
February 25th, 1833. 



209 



RESOLVES 

Relating to the President's Proclamation and Message. 

Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That this 
Legislature do cordially approve of the exposition of the princi- 
ples of the Constitution of the United States, touching the per- 
nicious doctrines of nullification and secession, set forth in the 
Proclamation of the President of the United States, of the tenth 
of December last, and in his late Message to Congress, and that 
this Legislature do also feel the strongest assurance that the 
principles contained in that exposition, will be firmly sustained 
by the people of Ohio. 

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to forward a copy 
of the foregoing resolution to the President of the United States, 
to the Executive of each of the United States, and to each of our 
Senators and Representatives in Congress. 

DAVID T. DISNEY, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

SAMUEL R. IMILLER, 

* . Speaker of the Senate. 

February 25th, 1833. 



Secretary of State's Office, ) 

Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 26, 1833. 5 

I hereby certify, that the foregoing Resolutions are true copies 
of the original rolls now on file in this office. 

MOSES H. KIRBY, 

Secretary of State. 



28 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



INDIAIVA 



RESOLVES 

Relative to the Proceedings of a late Convention of South 
Carolina, and to the President's Proclamation in relation 
thereto. 

Whereas, An unusual and alarming excitement prevails in the 
State of South Carolina, on the subject of the Tariff Laws, awak- 
ened, as is believed, by a mistaken view of their constitutionali- 
ty, and by exaggerated representations of their unequal opera- 
tion ; and whereas, heretical and dangerous doctrines have 
sprung up under the name of Nullification, in which the consti- 
tutional right in a state, to render nugatory and resist the laws 
of the United States, and to secede from the Union, is boldly 
assumed ; and whereas, a Convention, delegated from a portion 
of the citizens of that State, has recently passed an Ordinance, 
a copy of which, and of the report of a Committee of said 
Convention thereon, and of Addresses to the people of the sev- 
eral States and of South Carolina, transmitted by order of the 
said Convention, through the Governor of that State to the Gov- 
ernor of Indiana, avowedly for the information of this Legisla- 
ture, are now before the same ; and whereas, we, the Represen- 
tatives of the People of Indiana, view the doctrines contained 
in those documents, as carrying with them internal evidence of 
their impracticability, absurdity, and treasonable tendency ; and 
whereas, we regard the said Ordinance as prescribing to, and 
attempting to enforce upon the people of South Carolina, " a 
course of conduct, in violation of their duty as citizens of the 
United States, contrary to the laws of their country, subversive 
of its Constitution, and as having for its object the destruction 
of the Union," and as a necessary consequence, the prostration 
of our liberties : Therefore, 

Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of [ndiana, 
that we deeply deplore the political heresies, and threatened dis- 



214 

organization, recently promulgated by a portion of our brethren 
of South Carolina. 

Resolved, That we cordially concur in the persuasive appeals 
of our venerable Chief Magistrate, to the people of South Car- 
olina, to pause ere it be too late to save themselves from ruin. 

Resolved, That the sentiment, " our Union must be preserved," 
meets with a hearty response from the people of Indiana, bound 
as they are, by interest and honor, to that confederacy into 
which they voluntarily entered, and from which they will never 
willingly be severed. 

Resolved, That we regard the present juncture of our national 
affairs, as involving the preservation of our liberties, and as 
scarcely inferior in importance to that in which they were 
achieved. 

Resolved, That as regards this important question, all minor 
differences should be forgotten ; — that devotion to party should 
be lost in devotion to country, and that the great contest among 
Americans, should be, as to the means best calculated to prevent 
the temple of our Union from crumbling into ruins. 

Resolved, That the constitutional doctrines advanced, and 
views of policy embraced in the President's Proclamation on the 
present difficulties in South Carolina, — the patriotic spirit per- 
vading that able document, and the prompt and decisive manner 
in which he has rebuked the pernicious doctrines, and unjustifi- 
able course, recently adopted by a portion of the citizens of 
that State, command our entire approbation, and have crowned 
with new laurels the " Defender of his Country." 

Resolved, That at the present alarming and eventful crisis, 
we conceive it to be a solemn and paramount duty of the peo- 
ple of the different States to express through their Representa- 
tives, a firm and unwavering determination, to protect "the Ark 
of our political safety" from the hand of violence, and to pledge 
their support in furtherance of the laudable resolution of the 
National Executive, " to take care that tlic Republic receive no 
detriment." 

Resolved, That the Governor of this State be requested to 
transmit a copy of the foregoing Preamble and Joint Resolu- 
tions, to the President of the United States, and also, a copy to 
each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress, to be 



215 

laid before that body, and one to the Governor of each State in 
the Union. 

JOHN W. DAVIS, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

DAVID WALLACE, 

President of the Senate. 

Approved 9th January, 1833. 

N. NOBLE. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



, ALABAMA. 



I 29 



REPORT 

Of the Select Committee of the House of Representatives, to 
whom was referred so much of the Message of the Governor, 
as relates to the Tariff, to the principle of protection and to 
the doctrine of Nullification. 

The Select Committee to whom was referred so much of the 
Message of the Governor, as relates to the Tariff, to the princi- 
ple of protection and to the doctrine of Nullification, have had 
the same under consideration, and have instructed me to report 
a preamble and resolutions, which they respectfully submit to 
the House for its adoption. 

Your Committee deeply impressed with the present alarming 
crisis in our history, have given to the subject that prolound con- 
sideration, which its paramount importance so justly demands. 

So much has been said and written on the subject submitted 
to them, that they may be said to be exhausted, and they will 
therefore submit a very few remarks prefatory to the resolu- 
tions, which they recommend to the adoption of the House. 

In a country of such vast extent as the United States, em- 
bracing such a variety of soil, climate and products, and inhabit- 
ed by a people, whose pursuits are as various as the climate un- 
der which they live ; any attempt on the part of the Government 
to force manufactures into existence, by governmental bounties, 
must of necessity operate unequally, and therefore be unjust. 

If it be a truth, not now to be questioned, that no Govern- 
ment can justly take from one portion of its citizens a part of 
their property, to benefit another, it is more especially unjust in 
a country like ours, composed of different States, who are unit- 
ed in one common bond, only for the purpose of providing for 
the common defence, of promoting the general welfare, and se- 
curing the blessings of liberty to themselves and posterity. For 
these purposes, this Union was formed, and it cannot be sup- 



220 

posed, that those who consented to it, intended by implication 
and construction to confer on the General Government powers 
destructive of their happiness and best interest. Laws having 
their operation, and professing to derive their authority from the 
Conslitulion under which we live, being opposed to the true in- 
terest of every section of the republic and unjust in their oper- 
ation on the Southern States, even if sustained by the letter of 
the Constitution, are contrary to its spirit and at war with the 
general scope and tenor of that instrument. 

It cannot be believed that if the framers of the Constitution 
had assigned the exercise of such a power, as the right to cre- 
ate and protect domestic manufactures, by a system of high du- 
ties, that it would have been left to inference or implication ; its 
framers therefore could not have intended that such a power 
should be exercised. This reasoning is founded on, and these 
results drawn from the instrument itself; but in addition there- 
to, contemporaneous history informs us, that in the Convention 
which framed the Constitution, it was proposed in various modes 
to give that power to Congress, and refused. 

It is the exercise of this power, which a large majority of the 
South believe to be against the spirit of the Constitution, and 
no inconsiderable number, contrary to its express letter, which 
has driven them to consider their Government as foreign to their 
interests, and alien to their feelings. Instead of looking up to 
it with pride and veneration, as the world's last hope, and as the 
favorite resort of freedom, no inconsiderable portion of the 
South have begun to estimate its value ; and to contemplate 
even disunion itself, as an evil less formidable than submission 
to the exactions of the Government. 

And now at this fearful crisis, when one of our co-States has 
assumed the alarming attitude of declaring an act of Congress 
void within her limits, and the note of preparation is sounded to 
sustain this attitude by force, what shall Alabama do ? Our an- 
swer is never despair of our country. We believe that there is 
a vital energy, a living principle inherent in our institutions, and 
a sense of justice residing in the bosoms of our fellow^ citizens, 
which when properly appealed to, must succeed. We concede 
that our Northern brethren believe that they are acting within 
the pale of the Constitution j but can it be believed, that they 



221 

will by insisting on the obnoxious duties, peril the Union of 
these States, and make shipwreck of the last hope of mankind ? 
Can any pecuniary benefit compensate for results like these? 
If blood be shed in this unhallowed contest, a wound will be in- 
flicted, which may never be healed, to confidence will succeed 
distrust, mutual recriminations, and mutual interest, and the 
choicest blessings of Heaven, by madness and folly of man, will 
be converted into the most deadly poison. 

Deeply impressed with these views, we recommend the adop- 
tion of the following resolutions, which we are satisfied embody 
the opinions of our constituents, and in their name propose to 
our co-States a Federal Convention. 



RE80LVE^« 



Be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
State of Alabama in General Assembly convened, That we consider 
the present Tariff of duties, unequal, unjust, oppressive and 
against the spirit, true intent and meaning of the Constitution ; 
that if persevered in, its inevitable tendency will be to alienate 
the affections of the people of the Southern States from the 
General Government. 

And be it further Resolved, That we do not consider the Tariff 
of 1832, as fastening upon the country the principle of protection, 
but that we receive it as the harbinger of better times, as a 
pledge that Congress will at no distant period, abandon the prin- 
ciple of protection altogether, and reduce the duties on imports 
to the actual wants of the Government, levying those duties on 
such articles as will operate most equally on all sections of the 
Union. 

And be it further Resolved, That Nullification, which some of 
our Southern brethren recommend as the Constitutional remedy 
for the evils under which we labor, is unsound in theory and 
dangerous in practice, that as a remedy it is unconstitutional and 
essentially revolutionary, leading in its consequences to anarchy 
^nd civil discord, and finally to the dissolution of the Union. - 

And be it further Resolved, That we earnestly intreat the peo- 
ple of this State, not to distrust the justice of the General Gov- 
ernment, and to rest satisfied, though long delayed, it will cer- 
tainly be accorded to them. And above all things, to avoid 
those dangerous and unconstitutional remedies proposed for their 
imitation and adoption, no matter how specious their exterior, 
which may lead to bloodshed and disunion, and will certainly 
end in anarchy and civil discord. And at the same time we 
would most solemnly adjure the Congress of the United States, 
in the name of our common country to abandon the exercise of 
those dubious and constructive powers, claimed under the Consti- 
tution, the assertion of which has produced jealousy, excitement 



223 

and dissatisfaction to the Government, and if persevered in, will 
in all human probability dissolve this Union. By this means, 
and by this alone, can we be prevented from fulfilling our high 
destinies, and our onward march to greatness be arrested. 

And he it further Resolved, That as we have now for the first 
time in the history of our country, presented to us the appalling 
spectacle of one of the States of this Union, arraying herself 
against the General Government, and declaring sundry acts of 
Congress void and of no eflfect within her limits ; presenting to 
Congress the alternative of repealing the obnoxious laws or per- 
mitting her secession from the Union, and preparing by an 
armed force to sustain the position she has assumed, and as we 
cannot silently look on and witness the failure of the high 
raised hopes and just expectations of those patriots who cement- 
ed our liberty with their blood : Therefore, as a last resort, we 
recommend to our co-States the calling of a Federal Convention, 
to meet in the City of Washington on the first of March, 1S34, 
or at such other time and place as may be agreed on, which 
shall be authorized to devise and recommend such plan, which 
will satisfy the discontents of the South, either by an explicit de- 
nial of the right of Congress to protect domestic industry by 
duties on imports laid for protection, or by defining and restrict- 
ing the power aforesaid, within certain prescribed limits, and 
making such other amendments and alterations in the Constitu- 
tion as time and experience have discovered to be necessary. 

Resolved, That the Governor be desired to transmit a copy of 
the foregoing resolutions to the President of the United States, 
and to the Executive of each of the States, with a request that 
the same may be communicated to the Legislature thereof. 

Resolved further. That the Governor furnish a copy of said res- 
olutions to each of the Senators and Representatives of this 
State, in the Congress of the United States. 

Approved, January 12, 1833. 



RECOMMENDATIONS 

Of the General Assembly of the State of Alabama to the Pres- 
ident of the United States, to the State of South Carolina, 
and to the different States. 

The General Assembly of the State of Alabama have received 
and considered vi'ith absorbing interest, the late Ordinance of 
South Carolina, with the Address to the co-States accompany- 
ing the same, together with the Proclamation of the President 
of the United States, consequent thereon. The attitude assum- 
ed by the State of South Carolina and the Government of the 
United States through its Chief Magistrate, forbodes a crisis 
which threatens the peace of society and the harmony of the 
Union, and which should be deplored by every one who loves 
his country and liberty. The existence of our Constitution and 
the integrity of the Union, require the instant exertion of that 
patriotism, forbearance and virtue, which have hitherto charac- 
terised the history of our Government. Omitting, on this occa- 
sion, to enter into the causes which have produced the present 
afflicting posture between one State and the Federal Govern- 
ment; this General Assembly now affectionately and solemnly ap- 
peals to the Congress of the United States, and to the State of 
South Carolina, for that forbearance, patriotism and virtue, which 
alone can restore, by mutual sacrifice of opinion, harmony, 
peace and prosperity to our common country. The only bonds 
of our Union, and the sole preservatives of rational and con- 
stitutional liberty, are a strict adherence on the part of the con- 
stituted authorities, to the principles of our Government — the af- 
fection of the people for that Government, and a firm persuasion 
of tiie equality and justice of its administration, aided by a spir- 
it of forbearance on the part of those States who may differ 
from the opinion of the majority. 

To this end the General Assembly of Alabama recommend to 
the Congress of the United States, a speedy modification of the 



225 

Tariff Laws, in such manner as to equalise their burthens, and 
cause only so much revenue to be collected i;swill be necessary 
to pay the expenses of the Government, in its constitutional and 
economical administration. This Assembly further recommends 
to the Congress of the United States, as she has already done to 
her co-States, the call of a Federal Convention, to propose such 
amendments to our Federal Constitution, as may seem necessary 
and proper, to restrain the Congress of the United States from 
exerting the taxing power, for the substantive protection of do- 
mestic manufactures. This Assembly further earnestly recom- 
mends to the State of South Carolina, to suspend the operation 
of her late Ordinance, that the unfortunate collision of powers 
between that State and the Government of the United States, 
may be amicably adjusted in such manner as not to impair the 
rights and powers granted to the General Government, or re- 
tained and reserved to the States, or the people by the Consti- 
tution. This General Assembly further urgently recommends to 
the State of South Carolina to abstain from the use of military 
power, in enforcing her Ordinance, or in resisting the execution 
of the revenue laws of the United States. And this General As- 
sembly, with equal earnestness, recommends to the Government 
of the United States, to exercise moderation, and to employ only 
such means as are peaceful and usual to execute the laws of the 
Union. The General Assembly of this State further recommends 
to her co-States, to concur with this State in the foregoing re- 
commendations. 

Resolved, That the Executive of this State be requested to 
transmit copies of the foregoing recommendations, to the Exec- 
utive authorities of each of the United States : to the President 
of the United States, and to our Senators and Representatives 
in Congress, with instructions to lay the same before the Con- 
gress of the United States. 

Approved, January 12, 1833. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



MISSISSIPPI 



REPORT 



The select Committee to which was referred " so much of the 
Governor's Message as relates to the Resolutions from the 
States of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Pennsylva- 
nia, with the accompanying documents," beg leave to report: 

That they have had them under consideration, and would 
recommend, in regard to the Resolution first named, the adoption 
of the following Resolutions : 

In relation to the Resolutions from the States of Maine, New 
Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, and that portion of the Message 
which points to their consideration, your Committee would ex- 
press the belief that the sentiments of a majority of the people 
of this State, in regard to the subjects to which 'they relate, are 
in accordance with those expressed by the General Assembly in 
the year 1829, declaring the Tarifflaw of 1828, so far as it con- 
templated a system of protection, carried beyond the manufac- 
ture of such articles as are necessary to the national defence, to 
be " contrary to the spirit of the Constitution of the United 
States, impolitic and oppressive in its operation on the southern 
States, and should be resisted by all constitutional means." 
But fearful lest false inferences should be drawn from this ex- 
pression of public opinion— inferences, calculated to induce a 
belief that this State is prepared to advocate and uphold the 
disorganizing doctrines, recently promulgated in South Caroli- 
na, your Committee deem it their duty to speak plainly, and to 
undeceive their sister Slates in this respect. We are opposed to 
Nullification. We regard it as a heresy, fatal to the existence 
of the Union. " It is resistance to law by force— it is disunion 
by force-it is civil war." Your Committee are constrained to 
express the opinion, that the State of South Carolina has acted 



230 

with a reckless precipitancy, (originating, we would willingly be- 
lieve, in delusion,) well calculated to detract from her former 
high character for wisdom in council, purity of patriotism, and 
a solicitous regard for the preservation of those fundamental 
principles, on which alone rest the peace, the prosperity and 
permanency of the Union. Your Committee deeply deplore the 
alarming crisis in our national affairs ; they regret it the more as 
proceeding from the unwarrantable attitude assumed by a sister 
of the South, whose best interests are identified with our own. 
In the spirit of brethren of the same family, we would invoke 
them to pause — to hearken attentively to the paternal, yet omin- 
ous, warning of the Executive of the Union. We would con- 
jure them to await patiently the gradual progress of public opin- 
ion ; and to rely, with patriotic confidence, on the ultimate de- 
cision of the talented statesmen and pure patriots in the Congress 
of the United States. But they would also loudly proclaim, that 
this State owes a duty to the Union, above all minor considera- 
tions. That she prizes that Union less than liberty alone. That 
we heartily accord in the general political sentiments of the 
President of the United States, as expressed in his recent Proc- 
lamation ; and that we stand firmly resolved, at whatever sacri- 
fice of feeling, in all events, and at every hazard, to sustain him 
in enforcing the paramount laws of the land, and preserving the 
integrity of the Union — that Union, whose value we will never 
stop to calculate — holding it, as our fathers held it, precious 
above all price. Your Committee would therefore recommend 
the adoption of the following resolutions : 



RESOLVES. 



1 . Be it resolved hy the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, 
That, in the language of the father of his country, we will " in- 
dignantly frown upon the first dawning of every attempt to 
alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble 
the ties which link together its various parts." 

2. Resolved, That the doctrine of Nullification is contrary to 
the letter and spirit of the Constitution, and in direct conflict 
with the welfare, safety and independence of every State in the 
Union ; and to no one of them would its consequences be more 
deeply disastrous, more ruinous, than to the State of Mississippi 
— that State in which are concentrated our dearest interests — 
around which cling our most tender ties — the fair land of our 
nativity or adoption — the haven of our hopes, the home of our 
hearts. 

3. Resolved, That we will, with heart and hand, sustain the 
President of the United States, in the full exercise of his legiti- 
mate powers, to restore peace and harmony to our distracted 
country, and to maintain, unsullied and unimpaired, the honor, 
the independence and integrity of the Union. 

4. Resolved, That the Governor of the State be, and he is 
hereby required to transmit a copy of the last Resolutions, with 
the preamble, to our Senators and Representatives in Congress, 
also to the Governors of the different States, with a request that 
the same may be laid before their respective Legislatures. 

DAVID PEMBLE, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

CHARLES LYNCH, 

President of the Senate. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURES 



SOUTH CAROLIl\A AWJD GEORGIA, 



PROPOSING A 



CONVENTION OF THE STATES. 



31 



C^ The following Resolves of the Legislatures of South 
Carolina and Georgia, with those of the Legislature of Massa- 
chusetts, consequent upon them, though not directly embraced 
by the terms of the order under which the present volume has 
been published, are so closely connected with the general sub- 
ject of the late political controversies, that it has been thought 
expedient to include them. It appears from a letter of the Gov- 
ernor of Georgia, subsequently received by the Governor of this 
Commonwealth, and which is also published, that the document 
transmitted and certified by the Governor of Georgia, as Re- 
solves of the Legislature of that State, was in fact, a mere re- 
port, which was not adopted. The Resolves which were really 
passed, are now published from the printed volume of the Laws 
of Georgia. 



J 



state of Souti^ €nvolinu. 



In the Senate, 13th December, 1832. 

The Committee on Federal Relations, to whom was referred that 
portion of the Governor's Message, No. 3, which relates to the 
call of a Convention of the States, respectfully report the fol- 
lowing 

PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS : 

Whereas, serious causes of discontent do exist among the 
States of this Union, from the exercise, by Congress, of powers 
not conferred or contemplated, by the sovereign parties to the 
Compact — therefore, 

Resolved, That it is expedient that a Convention of the States 
be called as early as practicable, to consider and determine 
such questions of disputed power, as have arisen between the 
States of this confederacy and the General Government. 

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to transmit copies 
of this Preamble and Resolutions to the Governors of the several 
States, with a request that the same be laid before the Legisla- 
tures of their respective States, and also to our Senators and 
Representatives in Congress, to be by them laid before Congress 
for consideration. 

Resolved, That the Senate do agree. 

Ordered to the House of Representatives for concurrence. 

In the Senate, 19th December, 1832. 

The House of Representatives returned, with their concur- 
rence, the Report of the Committee on Federal Relations, on 
that portion of the Governor's Message, No. 3, which relates to 
the call of a Convention of the States. 

A true copy from the Journals. 

JACOB WARLEY, Clerk of the Senate. 



^tate of i&tovgtiu. 



In the House of Representatives. 

For as much as throughout the United States, there exist 
many controversies growing out of the conflicting interests 
which have arisen among the people, since the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution ; out of the cases in which Congress claims 
the right to act under constructive or implied powers ; out of the 
disposition, shown by Congress, too frequently to act under as- 
sumed powers, and out of the rights of jurisdiction, either claim- 
ed or exercised by the Supreme Court — all of which tend di- 
rectly to diminish the affection of the people for their own gov- 
ernment, to produce discontent, to repress patriotism, to excite 
jealousies, to engender, discord, and finally to bring about the 
event, of all other, most deeply to be deplored, and most anx- 
iously to be guarded against, viz : a dissolution of our happy 
Union, and a severance of these States into hostile communities, 
each regarding and acting towards each other with the bitterest 
enmity. 

And the experience of the past having clearly proved, that the 
Constitution of the United States needs amendment in the fol- 
lowing particulars : 

1. That the powers delegated to the General Government, and 
the rights reserved to the States or to the people, may be more 
distinctly defined. 

2. That the power of coercion by the General Government 
over the States, and the right of a State to resist an unconstitu- 
tional act of Congress, may be determined. 

3. That the principle involved in a Tariff" for the direct pro- 
tection of domestic industry, may be settled. 

4. That a system of Federal taxation may be established, 
which shall be equal in its operation upon the whole people, and 
in all sections of the country. 

5. That the jurisdiction and process of the Supreme Court? 
may be clearly and unequivocally settled. 



239 "vt^^ 

6. That a tribunal of last resort may be organized to settle 
disputes between the General Government and the States. 

7. That the power of chartering a Bank and of granting in- 
corporations, may be expressly given to, or withheld from Con- 
gress. 

8. iThat the practice of appropriating money for works of In- 
ternal 'Improvement, may be either sanctioned by an express del- 
egation of power, or restrained by express inhibition. 

9. That it may be prescribed, what disposition shall be made 
of the surplus revenue, when such revenue is found to be on hand. 

10. That the right to, and the mode of disposition of the pub- 
lic lands of the United States, may be settled. 

11. That the election of President and Vice President may be 
secured, in all cases, to the people. 

12. That their tenure of office may be limited to one term. 

13. That the rights of the Indians may be definitely settled. 

5e it therefore Resolved by the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives of the State of Georgia, in General Assembly met, and acting 
for the people thereof, That the State of Georgia, in conformity 
with the Fifth Article of the Federal Constitution, hereby makes 
application to the Congress of the United States, for the call of 
a Convention of the people, to amend the Constitution afore- 
said, in the particulars herein enumerated, and in such others as 
the people of the other States may deem needful of amendment. 

Resolved further, That His Excellency the Governor be, and he 
is hereby requested to transmit copies of this document to the 
other States of the Union, and to our Senators and Representa- 
tives in Congress. 

Agreed to, 12th December, 1832. 

Attest, ASBURY HULL, Speaker. 

Robert W. Carne*?, Clerk. 

In Senate, 20th December, 1832. 
Concurred in. 

Attest, THOMAS STOCKS, President. 

IvERsoN L. Harris, Secretary. 
Approved, 22d December, 1832. 

WILSON LUMPKIN, Governor, 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



OF 



/ 

MASSACHUSETTS. 



32 



(2tommoniuealtl) of M^M^^tm^tiin. 



HojsE OF Representatives, January I6tl, 1833. 

Ordered, Thatthe Resolutions of the Legislature of Georgia, 
proposing a Convention of the People of the United States, for 
the Amendment in various respects of the Constitution, and so 
much of the Governor's Special Message as relates thereto, be 
referred to 

Messrs. GUSHING, of Newburyport, 
SHAW, of Lanesborough, 
WHITE, of Boston, 

with such as the Senate may join. 
Sent up for concurrence. 

L. S. GUSHING, Clerk. 

In Senate, January 17, 1833. 

Read, and referred to Messsrs. BLAKE and WELLS, in con- 
currence. 

CHARLES CALHOUN, Clerk. 



eomnionUjealtii of i^asfiiacftusetts* 



In Senate, February, 1833. 

The Special Joint Committee, to whom was referred, among 
other things, that portion of His Excellency the Governor's 
Message, relating to the subject of the Preamble and Reso- 
lutions of the Legislature of South Carolina, proposing that 
a " Convention of the States should be called, as early as 
practicable, to consider and determine such questions of dis- 
puted power as have arisen between the States of this con- 
federacy and the General Government," have had the same 
under consideration, and respectfully submit the following 

REPORT IN PART : 

Upon the first presentment of the Resolutions in question, 
taken in connection with the matter contained in the Preamble, 
with which they are introduced, your Committee were consid- 
erably at a loss to determine what should be regarded as being 
their precise scope and object. The question occurred to them, 
whether it was the intention of the Legislature of South Caro- 
lina to invite a Convention of the States, with a view to certain 
specific amendments of the Constitution of the General Gov- 
ernment, in conformity with the provisions in the fifth article of 
that instrument, or to assume the novel and extraordinary ground 
that such a Convention was necessary or expedient, for the pur- 
pose, merely, of considering, and deterniining, in their sove- 
reign capacity, certain questions of disputed power, which are 
supposed to exist between that State more particularly, and the 
Government of the Union. 



245 

With reference to this point, the Committee were naturally 
led, in the first place, to a consideration of the very unusual 
manner (incase an amendment of the Constitution, in conform- 
ity with the article alluded to, were alone contemplated,) in 
which the proposition is submitted to the Legislature of Massa- 
chusetts. 

Since the first organization of the Federal Government, it 
has, as the Committee believe, been the uniform practice of the 
Legislature of a State, whenever it has proposed to bring about 
any amendment or change in the Constitution of that Govern- 
ment by a Convention of the States, to specify, in their applica- 
tion to other States, for co-operation and support in such a 
measure, the precise points wherein the existing provisions of 
the system were supposed to be doubtful or insufficient, and the 
nature and extent of the correction proposed to be applied. 
This form of application, which, whether prescribed or not by 
the terms of the article before referred to, would seem to be 
such as the nature of the case requires, appears, nevertheless, to 
have been not inadvertently, but studiously avoided by the 
Legislature of South Carolina on the present occasion. 

In another particular, the novelty of the proposition now sub- 
mitted to this Legislature, not as respects its form only, but its 
matter and substance, is not less conspicuous. It is not pro- 
posed that a Convention should be called, with a view to any 
particular amendment, or even, in general terms, to a revision 
of the Constitution of the General Government, but that it 
should take upon itself, when assembled, in a manner wholly 
unknown in any existing provision of the Federal Compact, the 
office of umpire, and sit in judgment on certain disputes which 
are alleged to exist between a State or States, and the nation. 
It is believed by your Committee, that, with the exception of 
one solitary case of an analogous description, to which they 
may hereafter have occasion to advert, for another purpose, but 
which, considering the time of its occurrence, and the fate that 
awaited it. they can hardly suppose would be relied upon as 
alfording the authority of a precedent, the proposition now sub- 
mitted is entirely unexampled in the history of this Government. 
It is, at any rate, most manifest, that, if assented to by the 
States, it would necessarily be attended with the most fatal con- 



246 

sequences to the Union. If the principle be sanctioned that, 
whenever a single member of this confederacy, conceiving itself 
aggrieved by any, even a questionable measure of the General 
Government, shall be permitted, first, to resist the measure, and 
then to summon a Convention of the whole, in order to consider 
and determine the matter in dispute, it is easy to foresee what 
utter degradation of all the regular authorities of the Govern- 
ment, what scenes of anarchy and disorder throughout the land 
must inevitably and speedily ensue. But it appears io your 
Committee, that the proposition, in itself, is not more extraor- 
dinary than is the sweeping assertion with which it is prefaced, 
and which seems, indeed, to constitute the only grounds upon 
which it is predicated. In the Preamble to the Resolutions in 
question, it is declared " that serious causes of discontent do 
exist among the States of this Union, from the exercise by Con- 
gress of powers not conferred or contemplated by the sovereign 
parties to the compact." The Committee will not trust them- 
selves to express, in terms such as their feelings might prompt 
them to employ on the occasion, the surprise, as well as the 
regret they have experienced, at meeting with a solemn, delib- 
erate announcement like this, from the Legislative body of a 
respectable member of this Union. Nor will they stop to con- 
sider how far, under almost any imaginable circumstances, it is 
consistent with that courtesy and comity, to say nothing of 
respect and confidence, which the constituted authorities of the 
different States have hitherto been accustomed to manifest in 
their intercourse with one another, and with the several depart- 
ments of the General Government. In the view of your Com- 
mittee, the position here assumed, for it is unaccompanied by 
any reserve or qualification whatsoever, amounts in fact to 
nothing less than this, that both branches of the legislative de- 
partment of this nation, including of course the chief executive, 
who must have sanctioned their proceedings, have manifestly 
been guilty of a dereliction of duty, a palpable abuse of power, 
while in the pretended exercise of their official functions. 

An imputation of so grave and serious a nature, is not indeed 
in so many words pronounced against them, but as much as this 
is clearly implied by the whole tenor of the document alluded 
to. If, according to the naked assertion of the Preamble, which 



247 

is wholly unaccompanied by any allowance for a possible error 
of judgment, the Congress of the United States have, on any oc- 
casion, been found to have exercised " powers not conferred 
nor even contemplated by the parties to the Federal Compact," 
the inference would seem to follow of course, for all acts of a 
legislative body must be supposed to have been the result of de- 
liberation, that the outrage was perpetrated knowingly, inten- 
tionally. Indeed, the Committee have been reluctantly led to 
the conclusion, especially when taking into view the present 
communication from the Legislature of South Carolina, in con- 
nection with the extraordinary measures antecedently adopted, 
and still maintained by a majority of the people of that State, 
in their Convention, and in their halls of legislation, that it was, 
in reality, their deliberate intention to pronounce a sentence 
not less serious and severe than that before supposed, against 
the legislative authorities of the General Government. It is, as 
your Committee, from a due consideration of all the circum- 
stances of the case, are constrained to believe, principally, with 
a view to the confirmation or the reversal of this sentence, that 
the invitation is now given to Massachusetts, to unite in sum- 
moning a Convention of the States. In this connection, it may 
be useful to notice, very briefly, the grounds on which, not the 
leading politicians only, but the high functionaries in the Gov- 
ernment of South Carolina, have attempted to justify the extra- 
ordinary proceedings that have been adverted to. It has been 
promulgated r.s one of the first and fundamental principles in 
tiieir new theory of the Federal Government, that not one jot or 
tittle of the sovereignty of any State was surrendered or com- 
promised, in any manner, at the formation of the Union. That 
a State has a right of course to be its own interpreter of the 
laws of the General Government, and to be the judge in the last 
resort of their validity. That, whenever a Stale, in its sovereign 
capacity, shall be pleased to pronounce that the Congress of the 
Jnit" i States have, in regard to any of their enactments, tran-. 
scended the authority delegated to them by the Constitution, all 
such acts must thenceforth, fo far at least as concerns the citi- 
zens of £jch State, be considered as utterly void and ineffectual. 
Furthermore, it is contended, that a declaration, of the kind 
above mentio.ied, k not only binding upon all within the juris- 



248 

diction of the disaffected State, but conclusive also, for the time 
being at least, against all the authorities of the General Govern- 
ment. From this novel and most extravagant doctrine, it results 
as a consequence, that an act of the highest legislative authority 
of this nation, whatever may be its scope or object, or however 
urgent in reference either to the foreign or internal affairs of 
the whole people may have been the cause of its adoption, 
must, when thus brought into question, remain as it were in 
abeyance, at the commandment of a single State. In other 
words, that the vast and complicated machinery of the National 
Government shall be made to stand still, until a grand Conven- 
tion of twenty-four independent, contending sovereignties, if so 
many should be pleased to assemble on the occasion, shall have 
considered and determined the question of its validity. 

Such, in substance, appears to be the theory of reform which 
has recently been promulgated, and is still maintained by the 
constituted authorities of South Carolina ; and your Committee 
is constrained to believe that it is, with reference to this system, 
and to a consummation of the very extraordinary course of pro- 
cedure therein contemplated, that the proposition for a Conven- 
tion of the States is now submitted to this Legislature. The 
Committee conceive that it would be a very useless appropria- 
tion of time, especially as the whole subject matter involved in 
the late extraordinary proceedings of South Carolina is already 
entirely familiar to the community, were they to proceed any 
further, on a course of reasoning, in order to demonstrate the 
utter fallacy and impracticability of the doctrines here adverted 
to; or to dwell longer in contemplating the consequences in 
which, should they be sustained, they must naturally and neces- 
sarily involve the peace and safety of the Union. Their tend- 
ency, it is conceived, is quite too obvious to require, or even to 
admit of argument or illustration. They manifestly go to re- 
solve at once our present glorious system of National Govern- 
ment into its original elements, and would leave, not for the pre- 
sent generation, but for posterity, the fearful, if not utterly 
hopeless task, of building some frail and miserable fabric upon 
its ruins. 

In fine, your Committee are unanimously of the opinion, that, 
upon any such grounds, or for any such reasons as those which 



249 

are set forth in the said Preamble and Resolutions, according 
to the construction thus given to them, it would be wholly in- 
consistent with the honor and the dignity of" this Commonwealth, 
to accede to the call of a Convention of the States, for the 
purposes therein specified. 

But, secondly, in case your Committee have been so unfortu- 
nate, in regard to the before mentioned particulars, as to have 
misinterpreted the import and intent of the communication from 
the Legislature of South Carolina; if, contrary to the construc- 
tion now assumed, its real intention v^'as to invite the co-opera- 
tion of Massachusetts in the call of a Convention of the States, 
with a view to some legitimate amendment of the Constitution, 
in conformity with the existing provisions of the instrument, the 
Committee are, nevertheless, entirely agreed in the opinion, that 
there are, in truth and in fact, no such causes existing, as would 
justify, even for such a purpose, (especially during the present 
irritable state of feeling among the people of several States of 
the Union) a resort to a measure so unusual and extraordinary. 
Unless some one or two discontented States in this Union, 
should, by reason of their pre-eminence in virtue and patriot- 
ism, be considered as justly entitled to the distinguishing appel- 
lation of "the States of this Union," the Committee cannot as- 
sent to the position which is laid down in the sweeping language 
of the Preamble to the Resolutions from South Carolina, that 
there are, in fact, existing serious causes, or any just causes 
whatever, whether serious or trivial, of discontent among " the 
States of this Union" ; much less are the Committee prepared to 
sanction the yet more extravagant assertion, that if discontents 
of any kind, or to any extent, do, in fact exist, " they have 
arisen from the exercise, by Congress, of powers not conferred, 
or contemplated, by the sovereign parties to the Federal Com- 
pact." 

It is indeed true, that within the period of the last two or 
three years, one of the States of this Union has seen fit to pro- 
claim aloud, throughout the land, her displeasure on account of 
certain prominent measures of the General Government. 

She has been pleased to assign, as the cause of the discon- 
tent, that the highest legislative authority of the nation had as- 
sumed to itself the exercise of unwarrantable and exorbitant 
33 



250 

power ; and, on this ground, has, at length, placed herself in the 
attitude of open defiance of the Constitution and the laws of the 
land. 

It is not less true, however, that whatever of sympathy or com- 
miseration may have been expressed or felt, by any, for the 
errors and delusion of a much beloved, but wayward associate 
in the political family, not a single other State in this Union is 
united with her in sentiment, either as to the legal grounds of 
her complaint, or the propriety of the measures to which she 
has seen fit to resort for redress. On the contrary, in relation 
to both the one and the other, the voice of nearly the whole 
people, in their primary assemblages, in their halls of legisla- 
tion, and every where throughout the land, has been heard, in a 
tone not of expostulation only, but of severe censure and re- 
proof, to pronounce its decision against her. 

In the opinion of your Committee, a Convention of the States 
cannot now be necessary to consider the validity of that deci- 
sion, or to add any new provisions to those already existing in 
the Federal Compact, with the view of preventing a recurrence 
of similar discontents among the States, in future. 

It is now nearly half a century since the present admirable 
system of Government first came from the hands of the illustrious 
statesmen and patriots by whom it was framed. Its theory, con- 
ceived as it would now seem to have been, almost by the power 
of superhuman intelligence, has been found, in experiment, in 
its wonderful adaptation to all the various and complicated con- 
cerns of this great and growing nation, not only to have equal- 
led, but greatly to have transcended, the most sanguine hopes 
and expectations of the country. 

In peace and in war, throughout all the trials and vicissitudes 
to which the nations, as well as individuals, in this imperfect 
state of being are necessarily subjected, its original principles, 
as they were at first established and understood by the people, 
have, to this day, remained without essential change or variation 
— unpolluted, undisturbed. Indeed, the members of the Com- 
mittee are solemnly impressed with the conviction, that next to 
the superintending agency of a wise and beneficent Providence, 
which seemo from the first, to have watched over the destinies of 
this much favoitd people, it is to this same system of civil Gov- 



261 

ernment, and to the mild, but firm and undeviating manner in 
which its principles have, for the most part, been maintained 
and administered, that we are chiefly indebted *or the general, 
nay, aliiiost universal prosperity which is now seen and felt in 
every part of this wide spread nation, it is this, as they verily 
believe, which, under the smiles of Heaven, has been the means 
of elevating these States from their once confused and imbecile 
condition, to that distinguished station which they now occupy 
among the proudest and most powerful nations of the world. 

In the Constitution of a Government framed with such wisdom , 
which has been thus tried and proved, and found to have been 
attended with such happy results, it surely would not be the part 
of prudence or good policy to attempt, on any light occasion, 
or indeed in any case but one of the most imperious and urgent 
necessity, a fundamental change of any kind. It is the opinion 
of your Committee, that in the complaints lately put forth by 
the State of South Carolina, there is nothing, when their real 
causes are fairly and fully investigated, that can be supposed to 
amount to the presentment of an exigency of this latter descrip- 
tion. 

Nor do the Committee believe that a revision of the Federal 
Constitution, by a Convention of the States, would at this time 
be useful, much less that it can be necessary, as has of late been 
sometimes alleged, or pretended, with a view to some more 
clear and exact definition than is to be found in the existing pro- 
visions of that instrument, in relation either to the legitimate 
boundaries of jurisdiction between the General and the State 
Governments, or to any of the powers or immunities which these 
high parties respectively have hitherto been accustomed to claim 
or enjoy. 

It was not unforeseen by the illustrious framers of the Federal 
compact, nor by the intelligent people who adopted it, that, in 
the very nature of things, such "questions of disputed power," 
(to use the language of the South Carolina resolutions,) would 
be likely to arise in the course of its operation. They were 
doubtless well aware also, that it was not in the power of any 
human wisdom or forecast, or indeed of any thing less than the 
intelligence which belongs alone to the Omniscient, to devise a 
system of Government for a nation like this, that should be for- 



252 

ever exempt from such doubts and exceptions as the ingenuity 
or ambition of men might suggest, especially in times of party 
zeal or excitement. Differences of this kind in political opin- 
ion, and the collisions which sometimes spring from them' 
should be regarded as the natural, perhaps necessary incidents 
of all free institutions ; as constituting in fact that portion of 
alloy which, by the ordination of Providence, seems to have 
been mingled with all our best comforts and blessings, and 
without which we could not have been permitted to enjoy the 
blessing of civil liberty, which is more precious in our estimation 
than all others. 

But it is believed that the testimony of all history will de- 
monstrate that such difficulties have been of less frequent oc- 
currence, and attended with much less serious consequences in 
this, than in any other Government partaking in any degree of 
the republican form, which has existed on the face of the earth. 
It was, at any rate, precisely with a reference to these natural 
and necessary consequences of the freedom of all our political 
institutions, that the grand conservative principle, which is 
found in the Judiciary department, was deeply implanted in the 
system ; that a high tribunal was appointed to stand, as it were, 
by the very tenure of its office, as well as by the peculiarity of 
its attributes in other respects, separate and distinct from all 
other departments of the Government. That to this tribunal 
was confided the great business of interpreting the Constitution 
and the laws, and of performing the high office of arbiter, in 
the last resort, of ?11 questions " of disputed power" that might 
arise in the course of their administration. It is, in the opinion 
of the Committee, no more than a tribute justly due to the 
character and conduct of this distinguished tribunal, as well as 
to the wisdom and forecast of the illustrious statesmen who pro- 
vided for its organization, to pronounce that it has hitherto ful- 
filled most faithfully and effectually, the great purposes of its 
appointment. 

It must be admitted, indeed, that, in the course of a series of 
years, during which the system has been in operation, a few iso- 
lated instances of insubordination, not only among considera- 
ble masses of citizens, but extending, even, to the constituted 
authorities of whole States, have been known to exist, which 



253 

seemed, at first, too mighty to be controlled by the mild, and 
peaceable operation of the principle alluded to; but, happily, 
for the peace, and honor of the country, the Constitution and 
the laws have hitherto in all such cases, eventually triumphed. 
The Committee, here, feel a degree of pride as well as pleasure, 
from having an opportunity to unite their humble voice with 
that of a late distinguished Commentator, who had, perhaps, as 
much to do, as any other mortal, now living or dead, in the 
original formation and subsequent administration of our present 
system of government, in the declaration that, " with few excep- 
tions, the course of the Judiciary has, hitherto, been sanctioned 
by the predominant sense of the nation." 

If, in relation to this particular branch of the subject, any 
thing further were wanting in confirmation of the opinions 
which are entertained by every member of the Committee, they 
would beg leave to invoke to their aid, and indeed to adopt as 
their own, the sentiments that were once expressed by the Au- 
thorities of another leading State of this Union in a case cor- 
responding, essentially, in its character, and in fact almost en- 
tirely analogous, in its circumstances, to that which is now pre- 
sented for consideration. 

The Committee, here, allude to the proceedings of the Legis- 
lature of Virginia, some thirty years ago, when a proposition 
was submitted to them by the Government of a neighboring 
State, then the largest, and most influential member of the 
confederacy, for an amendment of the Constitution of the United 
States, by providing for '• the appointment of an impartial tri- 
bunal to decide disputes between the State, and Federal Judi- 
ciary ;" in other words, a tribunal, in relation to which, the one 
now established by the Constitution, should become, a mere 
Subordinate and Dependent. It would be foreign from the 
purpose of the present inquiry, and serve only to revive the 
remembrance of scenes, which, for the honor of the country, 
should rather be permitted to pass silently to oblivion, and, if 
possible, be obliterated from the history of this government, 
were the Committee to attempt a detail of the reasons, or rather, 
pretexts, which were urged as the grounds of this extraordinary, 
and, at the time, wholly unprecedented proposal, on the part of 
the great State that has been alluded to. 



254 

It is sufficient for us to know, that it was a case in which the 
highest Authorities of one of the States of this Union were seen 
in hostile array, on the very verge of open insurrection, against 
the Judicial power of the nation ; and which, but for a return- 
ing consciousness of error and delusion, on the one side, and a 
firm, undeviating perseverance in the execution of its high du- 
ties, on the other, must inevitably have involved the country in 
all the complicated horrors of civil war. 

But, happily for the nation, the pretensions and the project 
of the disaffected State received no countenance from the State 
of Virginia. Her response, on the occasion, was precisely such 
as might reasonably have been anticipated from the intelligence 
and pure patriotism of such men as are known to have presided, 
at that day, in the councils of that much distinguished Common- 
wealth. 

"It was, among other things, unanimously resolved by both 
Branches of their Legislature, that, in their opinion, there was 
a Tribunal, already provided by the Constitution of the United 
States, to wit, the Supreme Court, more eminently qualified, from 
their habits and duties, from the mode of their selection, and 
from the tenure of their office, to decide the disputes aforesaid, 
in an enlightened and impartial manner, than any other Tribu- 
nal which could be erected." 

Such, to the very letter, was the magnanimous declaration of 
Virginia, when, by reason of an unpopular Judicial decision, (in 
the celebrated Olmstead case of Pennsylvania) she was invited 
to co-operate in an attempt to break up the existing foundations 
of the Judiciary Department of our Government. The example 
thus presented to us, is worthy of all praise, and of imitation ; 
and it surely is of not the less authority, from the circumstance of 
being holden up to us, by a member of this Union, which, what- 
ever may at any time have been said, or thought of its political 
character, in other respects, has, it is believed, never been sus- 
pected of any deficiency of zeal, or devotedness to the cause of 
State rights, or the protection of its own dignity and sovereignty. 

The Committee will not attempt, by any further commentary 
of their own, to give to this precedent, additional strength or 
weight. 



255 

In fine, upon a mature, and deliberate consideration of the 
whole subject submitted to them, the Committee have unani- 
mously, agreed to recommend to this Legislature, the adoption 
of the following Resolves. 

For the Committee. 

GEORGE BLAKE. 



RESOLVES. 



Whereas, the Governor of the State of South Carolina did, by 
his communication, under date of the fifth day of January last 
past, transmit to His Excellency the Gov'e»-nor of this Common- 
wealth, copies of a certain preamble, and resolutions connected 
therewith, recently passed by both branches of the Legislature 
of the said first mentioned State, with a request that the same 
might be laid before the Legislature of this Commonwealth ; in 
which said preamble and resolutions, it is set forth that " serious 
causes of discontent do exist among the States of this Union, 
from the exercise, by Congress, of powers not conferred or con- 
templated by the sovereign parties to the compact ; and resolv- 
ing, therefore, that it is expedient that a Convention of the 
States be called, as early as practicable, to consider and deter- 
mine such questions of disputed power as have arisen between 
the States of this Confederacy and the General Government." 

And whereas, His Excellency the Governor of this Common- 
wealth hath, in pursuance of the said request, submitted to the 
consideration of this Legislature, the preamble and resolutions 
aforesaid : Therefore 

1 . Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
Commoniotnlth of Massachusetts, in General Court assembled, That 
the Legislature of this Commonwealth do not recognize the ex- 
istence, at this time, of any serious causes of discontent, among 
the States generally, of this Union, or in any one of them ; much 
less, can they admit that, if any such discontents do, in fact, ex- 
ist, they have arisen from the exercise by Congress of powers not 
conferred or contemplated by the sovereign parties to the com- 
pact, as is asserted in the before mentioned communication from 
the Legislature of South Carolina. 

2. Resolved, That there is, already existing, under the Con- 
stitution of the United States, a proper and competent tribunal, 
namely, the Supreme Court of the United States, who are in- 
vested with sufficient power and authority ; who are eminently 



257 

qualified, and to whom it constitutionally belongs, to consider 
and determine " the questions of disputed power," and all other 
matters of controversy which are referred to in the said preamble 
and resolutions : Therefore 

3. Resolved, That the Legislature of this Commonwealth do 
not accede to the proposition of calling a Convention of the 
States for the purposes therein expressed, or for any other pur- 
pose whatsoever. 

4. Resolved, That His Excellency the Governor, be requested 
to transmit a copy of these resolves, together with the report 
which accompanies them, to the President of the United States, 
the Governors of all the States, and to each of the Senators and 
Representatives of this Commonwealth in Congress. 

In Senate, March 16, 1833. 
Read twice and passed. Sent down for concurrence. 

B. T. PICKMAN, President, 

House of Representatives, March 18, 1633. 
Read twice and passed in concurrence. 

W. B. CALHOUN, Sjyeaker. 

March 18, 1833. 
Approved. 

LEVI LINCOLN. 



34 



arommoniuealtfi of J^assisatliusettss. 



House or Representatives, March 18th, 1833. 

The Joint Select Committee, appointed to consider the Resolu- 
tions of the Legislature of Georgia, proposing a Convention 
of the People of the United States, for the Amendment, in 
various respects, of the Constitution, and also so much of the 
Governor's Special Message as relates thereto, have attended 
to the duty assigned them, and ask leave to submit the fol- 
lowing 

REPORT : 

The Resolutions of the State of Georgia propose to the other 
States of the Union the call of a Convention of the people, in 
conformity with the provisions of the fifth article of the Consti- 
tution, for the purpose of defining and making certain that in- 
strument in regard to certain questions of disputed power, and 
for the purpose of altering it in other respects, wherein it needs 
amendment, in the opinion of the Legislature of Georgia. In 
the preamble to their resolutions, they premise that " through- 
out the United States there exist many controversies, growing 
out of the conflicting interests which have arisen among the 
people since the adoption of the Federal Constitution, — out of 
the cases in which Congress claims the right to act under con- 
structive or implied powers, — out of the disposition, shown by 
Congress, too frequently to act under assumed powers, — and 
out of the rights of jurisdiction, either claimed or exercised by 
the Supreme Court," — all of which controversies, they allege 
have a tendency to produce discontent and disaffection among 
the citizens of the United States, and ultimately to bring about 
a dissolution of the Union ; and upon these premises they con- 
clude that experience has " clearly proved" the Constitution to 



269 

need amendment in thirteen distinct particulars, which they 
proceed to set forth specifically, as the basis of their Resolu- 
tions. Your Committee propose briefly to remark upon the 
several portions of the Preamble to the Resolutions, and in so 
doing they will have explained the grounds of the Resolves, 
which they offer to the consideration of the Senate and House 
of Representatives. 

Your Committee do not pretend to deny, that " controversies" 
exist in some parts of the Union, " growing out of the conflict- 
ing interests, which have arisen among the people since the 
adoption of the Federal Constitution." Such controversies, and 
such sources of controversy, are inseparable from the very ex- 
istence of political society, and belong to the practical operation 
of every system of government in every country. They are not 
such as any modifications of the present Constitution could re- 
move, or any prescribed form of fundamental law prevent. Of 
course, whatever may be the extent, nature, degree, or tendency 
of controversies of this description, they do not seem to your 
Committee to afford any argument in favor of the call of a Con- 
vention. 

And whatever controversies may have arisen out of " the 
cases, in which Congress claims the right to act under construc- 
tive or implied powers," your Committee conceive that still less 
can such cases be admitted to render the call of a Convention 
necessary or expedient. Prior to the time when the people of 
the United States adopted the Constitution, they possessed, 
either in themselves individually, or in their respective state 
governments, all the powers of sovereignty. That Constitution 
consists in part of a specification of powers, whereof the people 
saw fit to divest themselves or the States, in order to concede 
them to the government of the United States ; and it is mani- 
fest that, according to the settled principles of constitutional 
jurisprudence, the Union cannot rightly claim any powers, other 
than such as are bestowed upon it by the Constitution. What 
those powers are, and what their extent, are in themselves es- 
sentially questions of construction, that is, of the legal meaning 
and effect of the terms of the instrument. Whether it shall be 
construed liberally, or whether it shall be construed strictly, — 
or whether neither liberally nor strictly, if there be any middle 



260 

course, — still at any rate it must be construed in some way ; 
and the force of any grant, in respect of the powers conveyed 
by it either expressly or impliedly, is and must forever continue 
to be a question of construction. That construction is a process 
of definition, dependant upon the same rules of law, philology, 
and common sense, which settle the construction of other in- 
struments ; and if any doubts arise thereon, the Constitution it- 
self provides for the mode by which such doubts are to be re- 
moved, namely, by means of the Supreme Court of the United 
States. To assemble a Convention for the purpose of making 
sach construction, would not only be contrary to the tenor of 
the Constitution itself, but would serve to defeat its own object, 
because every definition or explanation, which a Convention 
should undertake to give concerning questions which now exist, 
would of necessity furnish the materials of new questions, just 
as difficult to decide as the old ones, and just as much requiring 
the interposition of a Convention. Your Committee are of 
opinion that the Constitution, as it stands, is a model of clear, 
exact, intelligible specification and limitation, admirable for the 
distinctness of its language, remarkable as well for legal pre- 
cision of expression, as for the profound political wisdom which 
characterizes it ; and they have no hopes that in these respects 
it could be improved as a whole by the labors of a new Con- 
vention 

Your Committee, with all due respect for the Legislature of 
Georgia, feel bound to say they are not conscious that Congress 
has frequently shewn a disposition " to act under assumed pow- 
ers" — provided the Legislature of Georgia understand by those 
words what alone the Committee can understand by them, — 
powers not conferred by the Constitution. Congress acts on 
the people through the medium of legislation, and it cannot so 
act without the concurrence of the Executive ; and the rules 
of conduct which Congress and the Executive conjointly pre- 
scribe in the form of laws, are subject to the revision of the 
Judiciary, by whom their constitutionality, and of course their 
validity, is to be judged. Your Committee deem this mode of 
redress amply sufficient, in the ordinary course of affairs, to 
protect the people against the actual exercise of usurped powers ', 



261 

and they are wholly at a loss to perceive how a Convention 
could govern and control the disposition of any future Congress. 
The Supreme Court, in the judgment of your Committee, 
neither claims nor exercises ' any rights of jurisdiction' not vest- 
ed in it by the Constitution. They are persuaded, on the con- 
trary, from careful observation of the judgments of that august 
tribunal, that it has ever manifested a becoming diffidence of its 
own powers, a disposition to act strictly within the prescribed 
boundaries of its constitutional functions, and a conscientious 
deference for the reserved rights of the States. 

Your Committee are constrained to say thus much in reference 
to the premises laid down by the Legislature of Georgia, be- 
cause the Committee cannot admit them to be sound, in any 
view of which they seem to be justly susceptible, as alleged in- 
ducements to the call of a Convention, or even as any genuine 
or adequate causes of such discontent among the people, as 
should menace the safety of the Union. And while the Commit- ' 
tee deny that these general considerations afford any motives to 
constitutional action, they equally deny that past ' experience' 
proves the necessity of altering the Constitution in the manner 
proposed by the State of Georgia. 

The Legislature of Georgia seeks ' amendment' of the Consti- 
tution, — 

' First, That the powers delegated to the General Government, 
and the rights reserved to the States or to the people, may be 
more distinctly defined.' 

The Committee have already remarked upon this point, which 
is purely a matter of judicial construction, not of fundamental 
legislation by the agency of a Convention. 

' Secondly, That the power of coercion by the General Gov- 
ernment over the States, and the right of a State to resist an un- 
constitutional act of Congress, may be determined.' 

Your Committee conceive that these points are ' determined' 
already by the Constitution. The people of the several States 
have bestowed certain specified powers upon the General Gov- 
ernment, and all the citizens of the Union, whether acting indi- 
vidually as men, or collectively through the intervention of the 
constituted authorities of a State, are alike bound to yield obedi- 
ence to the General Government within the limits prescribed by 



262 

the Constitution. If Congress, or the Executive, overleap those 
limits, the Judiciary affords the means of immediate redress ; and 
the people, in the exercise of their functions as electors, can pro- 
vide new depositaries of the legislative and executive power ; and 
if these remedies fail, and the public abuse and usurpation be of 
adequate magnitude to warrant recurrence to ultimate means of 
relief, there remains the right of revolution and of armed resist- 
ance. These principles, sufficiently clear in themselves, have 
already been acted upon by the Legislature in their decision 
upon the proceedings in South Carolina, and do not require any 
further elucidation ; and your Committee will only add that this 
subject of amendment, like the preceding, is also matter of ju- 
dicial definition, not of constitutional organization. 

'Thirdly, That the principle involved in a tariff' for the direct 
protection of domestic industry may be settled.' 

Your Committee have only to refer, on this point, to the opin- 
ions heretofore expressed by the Legislature upon the constitu- 
tionality of protective tariff regulations, and to add that this also 
is a question of definition or construction. 

'Fourthly, That a system of federal taxation maybe establish- 
ed, which shall be equal in its operation upon the whole people, 
and in all sections of the country.' 

Your Committee, knowing that Congress has power to lay 
and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, do not perceive 
any cause, in the history of the country or the nature of the sub- 
ject, for taking away that authority ; and they are not aware of 
any useful object to be attained by subjecting this part of the 
Constitution to revision by a Convention. 

' Fifthly, That the jurisdiction and process of the Supreme 
Court may be clearly and unequivocally settled.' 

Your Committee are of opinion that the jurisdiction of the Su- 
preme Court, extending to all cases in law and equity arising 
under the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the Union, and to 
various other classes of cases described in the Constitution, is 
therein defined with comprehensive precision, so far as it can be 
defined by means of language. Its process is matter of legisla- 
tion, within the powers of Congress, and there is no need of the 
action of a Convention upon that point. And although an 
amendment of the Constitution might grant new powers to the 



263 

• 

Supreme Court, or abstract from it powers which it now possess- 
es, the Committee do not perceive how its jurisdiction could be 
any more ' clearly aud unequivocally settled' by a Convention. 

' Sixthly, That a tribunal of last resort may be organized to 
settle disputes between the General Government and the States.' 
Your Committee conceive such an object to be entirely im- 
practicable ; and moreover, to be quite incompatible with the 
principles or the healthful action of the Constitution. The au- 
thority of the United States, under the Constitution, attaches 
to individuals, not to States; and a Convention could neither 
cure nor prevent such ' disputes,' unless it should totally change 
the whole theory of the Government, and interpose the authority 
of the States between individuals and the Union. The great 
distinction between our Constitution and the fundamental sys- 
tem of other federal governments is, that the latter were sove- 
reignties over sovereignties, and that they legislated for political 
communities, and thus whenever either of the members of those 
confederacies chose to disobey the commands of their general 
government, either a civil war or a dissolution of the confederacy 
ensued ; whereas the power of the United States acts upon pri- 
vate individuals, and thus holds the constitutional, as well as the 
physical means, to compel the obedience of the citizens of any 
refractory State. Your Committee regard this as one of the most 
beautiful and essential features of that admirable charter ; as the 
great object, in fact, which our forefathers sought to secure in 
substituting the present Constitution in place of the old articles 
of confederation, — and as among the last of its provisions, which 
we ought to be willing to abandon or jeopardize. 

' Seventhly, That the power of chartering a bank, and of 
granting incorporations, may be expressly given to or withheld 
from Congress.' 

Your Committee cannot think it of any consequence now to 
introduce a clause into the Constitution, to the effect of express- 
ly authorizing Congress to establish a bank or other corporation. 
The power of Congress is incontrovertibly settled in the point 
of general power, by the repeated action of Congress and of the 
Executive on the subject, and by adjudications of the Supreme 
Court. Of course, the power of chartering a bank is to be 
deemed and taken as a part of the Constitution, just as much 



264 

as if it had been expressly specified. No practical object 
could be answered by a Convention, in respect of this, unless to 
prohibit the establishment of a bank by Congress, which your 
Committee cannot recommend, impressed as they are with a 
strong sense of the utility and importance of a National Bank, 
to every portion of the Union. 

' Eighthly, That the practice of appropriating money for 
works of internal improvement, may be either sanctioned by an 
express delegation of power, or restrained by express inhibition. 

If the Constitution were now to be framed, your Committee 
will not deny that it might be expedient to insert in it an ex- 
plicit provision upon this vexed question. They are aware that 
grave differences of opinion have obtained among the most dis- 
tinguished statesmen of the country, as to the power of Con- 
gress to make appropriations of money for objects of internal 
improvement, so called, within the limits of any of the States. 
Under the power to establish post roads, to regulate commerce, 
and to raise moneys to provide for the general welfare. Con- 
gress has repeatedly authorized the execution, at the charge of 
the United States, in part or in whole, of public works of this 
description ; and whatever questions have been, or may here- 
after be raised, concerning the extent of this power, your Com- 
mittee believe that the opinions and practice of the two Housee 
of Congress and the Executive, in their discussion and action 
upon the subject, will ere long have provided a safe construc- 
tion of the Constitution in this respect, as they have done in 
others, where doubt once existed as to the meaning of that in- 
strument. However this may be, your Committee do not think 
it is a matter which demands the call of a Convention ; and that 
if the Constitution needs amendment in that particular, it should 
be provided by means of Congress, under the provisions in the 
fifth article of the Constitution. 

' Ninthly, That it may be prescribed, what disposition shall 
be made of the surplus revenue, when such revenue is found to 
be on hand.' 

' Tenthly, That the right to, and the mode of disposition of 
the public lands of the United States, may be settled.' 

Your Committee are not aware that any serious constitutional 
difficulty exists in relation to these two subjects, which they 



265 

deem to be mere questions of public policy and expediency, en- 
tirely within the competency of Congress. 

' Eleventhly, That the election of President and Vice Presi- 
dent may be secured, in all cases, to the people.' 

' Twelfthly, That their tenure of office may be limited to one 
term.' 

Whatever considerations there may be in favor of an amend- 
ment of the Constitution in these particulars, and your Commit- 
tee admit that the expediency of a change in the second of them 
rests upon highly plausible grounds, yet the mode of amendment 
through the agency of Congress, pointed out by the Constitution, 
seems to them to be fully competent to effect such an amend- 
ment, whenever it shall be the will and desire of a decided ma- 
jority of the people of the United States. 

' Lastly, that the rights of the Indians may be definitely set- 
tled.' 

Your Committee believe this to be purely a subject of judi- 
cial construction under the Constitution, laws, and treaties of 
the United States ; that the Supreme Court is competent to set- 
tle any questions appertaining to it, which do exist, or which 
may hereafter exist ; and that, of course, it offers no exigency 
requiring the call of a Convention. 

In fine, the specific objects of amendment proposed by the 
State of Georgia, are of two kinds : — first, things wherein the 
true intendment of certain clauses of the Constitution may have 
been deemed questionable, which your Committee regard as the 
proper subject matter of judicial construction or definition, in 
the last resort of constitutional, as distinguished from extra con- 
stitutional modes of procedure, and of course as not fitting ob- 
jects of a Convention ; and, secondly, things wherein specific 
alterations of, or additions to the Constitution may have been 
deemed expedient, which your Committee regard as belonging 
to the competency of Congress, and by no means of such vital 
consequence as to justify the extraordinary step of a Convention 
of the people of the United States. 

Having thus adverted to the reasons on which the Legislature 
of Georgia found their proposition for the call of a Convention, 
and also to the specific objects of amendment which they pro- 
pound for investigation, your Committee have only to add, in 
35 



266 

conclusion, that they conceive the meeting of a Convention of 
the people, for the purpose of revising the Constitution, in these 
or any other respects, to be a remedy required only by pressing 
emergencies of national exigency ; and they apprehend that, 
under any subsisting state of public feeling, its tendency would 
be to create new questions of difficulty, and to augment the dif- 
ferences of opinion in regard to old ones, and thus to weaken 
rather than confirm the power of the Union. The Legislature 
of Georgia have alleged various subjects of fundamental law as 
requiring the agency of a Convention, being such as the pecu- 
liar views or position of the State of Georgia have suggested to 
her Legislature. It would be easy for your Committee to swell 
the number of subjects equally suitable for the consideration of a 
Convention with those under discussion, derived from the views 
and position of this Commonwealth ; and some of the latter class 
of subjects involve questions of public right, of national expe- 
diency, of constitutional organization, quite as important in 
themselves, and quite as dear to the convictions of the people 
of Massachusetts, as any of the former class can possibly be to 
the people of Georgia. But your Committee are content with 
the Constitution in the form they have received it from their 
fathers, regarding it as a monument of comprehension and sa- 
gacity, which the labors of a Convention might perhaps improve 
in some points, but which they would be more likely to unsettle 
and overturn, without possessing the capacity or the povi'er to 
raise upon its ruins another equally noble fabric of political 
wisdom to supply its place. Whilst entertaining, therefore, all 
proper respect for the opinions of the Legislature of Georgia, 
and while solicitous to treat that State with deference as a co- 
equal member of the Union, your Committee, in view of the 
whole matter, recommend to the Legislature the adoption of the 
following Resolves. 

For the Committee, 

CALEB GUSHING. 



RESOLVES* 



Whereas, the Governor of the State of Georgia did, by his 
communication under date of the twenty-eighth day of Decem- 
ber last, transmit to His Excellency the Governor of the Com- 
monwealth, copies of a certain Preamble and Resolutions con- 
nected therewith, recently adopted by the Legislature of said 
State of Georgia, and His Excellency did, by his Special Mes- 
sage of the sixteenth of January last, communicate the same to 
the Legislature of this Commonwealth : — 

And ivhereas, in said Preamble and Resolutions it is set forth 
that, for certain reasons therein alleged, the State of Georgia 
doth make application to the Congress of the United States for 
the call of a Convention of the People to amend the Constitu- 
tion in sundry particulars, enumerated in said Preamble, and in 
such others as the People may consider needful : — 

And ivhereas, the specified subjects of amendment are either 
matters of definition or construction merely, arising on the face 
of the Constitution, as to which the meaning of the Constitution 
is already, or may hereafter be, satisfactorily ascertained under 
the Constitution, and by means provided therein, and which 
matters do not properly come within the functions of a Conven- 
tion ; or else matters of amendment suitable for the considera- 
tion of Congress, under the Fifth Article of the Constitution, 
and not of such vital moment as to require the call of a Conven- 
tion : — Therefore, 

1. Resolved, That the Legislature of this Commonwealth 
do not concur in the proposition of the State of Georgia, inviting 
a Convention of the People of the United States for the purpose 
of amending the Constitution. 

2. Resolved, That His Excellency the Governor be re- 
quested to transmit a copy of these Resolves, together with the 
Report which accompanies them, to the President of the United 
States, to the Governors of all the States, and to each of the 
Senators and Representatives of this Commonwealth in Con- 
gress, 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GA. 

MILLEDGEVILLE, JUNE 7, 1833. 
Sir,— 

In transmitting to you, the Acts of the General Assembly of 
this State, passed at its last session, I beg leave to correct an 
error, which occurred through the inadvertence of the press, and 
a want of proper scrutiny at this Department, in regard to a 
resolution, transmitted to you on the 28th of December last, and 
purporting to have been approved on the 22d of said month. 
The resolution forwarded to you, was rejected by the Legisla- 
ture, and a substitute adopted (which you will find in the print- 
ed laws, pages 49 and 50.) 

The official signatures of the officers of both branches of the 
General Assembly, and that of the Governor, were improperly 
placed by the printer, to the resolutions heretofore forwarded 
to you, and forwarded from this Department without detecting 
the error. 

I have the honor to be, respectfully, 

Your Obedient Servant, 

WILSON LUMPKIN. 

His Excellency the Governor of Massachusetts. 



state of a^tovQin. 



RESOLVES. 

House of Representatives. 

Whereas, The Tariff Law of the last session of Congress has 
not satisfied the just expectation of the people of the Southern 
States : whereas, the recent attempt to provide a remedy for the 
evils which we suffer from the protective system, by a State 
Convention, not only will probably be abortive, but is likely, if 
persisted in, materially to disturb the public harmony, and lessen 
the moral force of the State : and, whereas, the resolutions 
adopted by the delegates of a minority of the people, and which 
are about to be submitted to the whole State for ratification, 
are in several respects of a most objectionable character, it be- 
comes the duty of those who are the unquestionable representa- 
tives of the people of Georgia, to interpose for the purpose of 
tranquillizing the public mind, and concentrating the public 
will, by the recommendation of a course of policy, which, they 
trust, will obtain the general approbation of the community. 
Therefore, 

Resolved, That if a Southern Convention be desirable, it is 
expedient for the State of Georgia, to invite the States of Vir- 
ginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and 
Mississippi, to concur with her in electing Delegates to a Con- 
vention, which shall take into consideration the TariflT system of 
the General Government, and devise and recommend the most 
effectual and proper mode of obtaining relief from the evils of 
that system. 

Resolved, That in order to ascertain the sense of the people 
of Georgia, on this subject, the following plan of a Southern 



272 

Convention, be submitted to them, and that their votes on the 
same be received at the appointed time and places of voting for 
county officers in the several counties of this State, on the first 
Monday in January next ; that no person be allowed to vote on 
this matter, who is not entitled to vote for members of the Gen- 
eral Assembly; that the vote be expressed by endorsing on the 
ticket the words " Southern Convention," or " No Southern 
Convention ;" and that a regular list be kept of the votes so en- 
dorsed, and transmitted to the Executive Department, by the 
officers presiding at the elections. 

PLAN OF A SOUTHERN CONVENTION. 

Art. 1. The State of Georgia invites the States of Virginia, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mis- 
sissippi, to concur with her in electing Delegates to a Conven- 
tion, which shall take into consideration the Tariff system of the 
General Government, and devise and recommend the most ef- 
fectual and proper mode of obtaining relief from the evils of that 
system. 

Art. 2. She proposes that each invited State, shall send to 
the Convention, a number of Delegates equal to the number of 
Senators and Representatives to which such State is entitled in 
the Congress of the United States. 

Art. 3. The Convention shall not take place, unless (five) 
States of the six, which it is proposed to invite, assent to the 
proposal. 

Art. 4. The time and place of assembling the proposed Con- 
vention, shall be arranged and determined by correspondence 
among those who shall be duly authorized by the States assent- 
ing to this plan. 

Art. 5. The Governor of this State, is authorized and desired 
to communicate the invitation and proposals contained in the 
four preceding articles to the Governors of the other States 
above mentioned, with a request that they be made known to 
the people of those States respectively. He is also authorized 
and desired to arrange by correspondence, the time and place 
of assembling the proposed Convention, conformably to the pro- 
vision of the fourth article. 



273 

Art. 6. When the time and place for the meeting of said 
Convention, are determined, the Governor of this State is au- 
thorized and desired to issue his proclamation, with timely no- 
tice, for an election of eleven delegates by general ticket, to 
represent the State in said Convention ; the election to be regu- 
lated by the same principles as those which govern the election 
of members of Congress. It is also desired and expected, that 
the Legislature of this State will make such provision as may 
be necessary for carrying more completely and readily into 
effect, the above plan, if it should be adopted as proposed. 

Art. 7. If the delegates assembled in a Southern Convention, 
according to the above plan, shall agree on a course of pro- 
ceeding which they recommend to the States represented, 
the Governor of this State is authorized and desired to issue a 
proclamation, with timely notice, for an election of delegates to 
a State Con*'ention, declaring the time and place at which it 
shall assemble. Such Convention shall consist of delegates 
from every County, equal in number to that of its members in 
the House of Representatives of this State, and the elections for 
said delegates shall be regulated by the same principles, and 
authenticated by the same forms as elections for members of the 
General Assembly. To the State Convention thus elected, the 
recommendations of the Southern Convention shall be submit- 
ted. If the same are approved by the State Convention, they 
shall then be referred to the people for final ratification, in such 
manner as may be prescribed by said Convention; and if they 
are ratified by the majority of those persons entitled to vote for 
members of the General iiYssembly, the State Convention shall 
proclaim that the said recommendations being regularly adopted, 
express the will of the people of Georgia ; and shall also provide 
the mode of giving permanent and authentic record to such rat- 
ification. 

Resolved, That if the above plan of a Southern Convention is 
adopted by the votes of a majority of the citizens of this State, 
given in the manner therein described, it will be the right and 
duty of the different functionaries of the State Government, to 
afford all necessary aid in facilitating its execution. 

Resolved, That we earnestly advise our fellow-citizens, not to 
36 



274 

give their votes on the resolutions of the Convention recently 
adjourned, as therein proposed. That Convention manifestly 
consisted of delegates from a minority of the people ; yet they 
submit their acts for ratification to the whole people, according 
to a form contrived by themselves, through the agency of per- 
sons appointed by themselves, while they themselves remain 
final judges of the ratification proposed. To sanction such a 
procedure, would open a door for the grossest imposition, would 
establish an alarming precedent for usurping the rights of the 
majority, and might alternately [ultimately] expose us to all the 
horrors of discord and anarchy. 

Resolved, That while we would provide a corrective for the 
possible continuance of those evils, of which we have so much 
reason to complain, we still hope that the regular operations of 
the General Government will supercede the necessity of any 
extraordinary measures on the part of the Southern people, and 
that we recognize the happiest augury of better things, in the 
growing certainty of the re-election of that illustrious patriot, 
Andrew Jackson. 

Resolved, That we abhor the doctrine of Nullification as nei- 
ther a peaceful, nor a constitutional remedy, but, on the con- 
trary, as tending to civil commotion and disunion ; and while 
we deplore the rash and revolutionary measures, recently adopt- 
ed by a Convention of the people of South Carolina, we deem 
it a paramount duty to warn our fellow citizens against the dan- 
ger of adopting her mischievous policy. 

Agreed to, November 29, 1832. 

ASBURY HULL, Speaker. 

Attest, ROBERT W. CARNES, Clerk. 

In Senate, concurred in, December 12, 1833. 
THOMAS STOKES, President. 
Attest, IVERSON L. HARRIS, Secretary. 

Approved, December 14, 1832. 

WILSON LUMPKIN, Governor. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



/ 
MISSISSIPPI 



RESOLVESe 



*The Committee to which was referred the communication of the 
Executive, transmitting to this House a resolution of the Sen- 
ate and House of Representatives of the State of Georgia, 
"making application to the Congress of the United States, in 
conformity with the fifth article of the Federal Constitution, 
for the call of a Convention of the people to amend the Consti- 
tution aforesaid, in the particulars therein enumerated, and in 
such others as the people of the other States deem needful of 
amendment", beg leave to 

REPORT: 

That, deeply impressed with the momentous importance of 
the subject referred to them, they have bestowed on it their 
most deliberate consideration. They are proud to avow the sin- 
cere and sacred reverence, which they, in common with a vast 
majority of their fellow citizens entertain for the Federal Con- 
stitution, the great charter of our national liberties, our inde- 
pendence and union. Framed as it was originally, by a Con- 
vention of the people of the United States, and sanctioned after- 
wards by the people of the respective States, in their highest 
sovereign capacity, we should, it would seem, await the exist- 
ence of the most urgent and palpable necessity of amendment 
ere we proceed to provide for any important alteration in a sys- 
tem of government presented to us under such imposing circum- 
stances. But when to these circumstances is added the recol- 
lection of the great, the good, the pure and gifted statesmen by 
whom it was framed, the all embracing spirit of conciliation and 
patriotism in which it originated, and by which it was perfect- 
ed — the signal and glorious triumphs which under it have at- 
tended the eagle of our star-spangled banner on the land and on 



278 

the deep — the high and wide spread national character which it 
has enabled us to attain — the unexampled rapidity of our march 
under its fortunate auspices to national glory, power, prosperity 
and happiness — the marked and all pervading influence which 
it has exerted in liberalizing the forms of government through- 
out the civilized world, by conferring on mankind a knowledge 
of their rights, and a determination and courage to maintain and 
defend them ; — when to all these glorious results, it is added, 
that the paternal voice of Him who was first in war, first in 
peace, and still is first in the hearts of his countrymen, employ- 
ed its latest accents in inculcating a deep and solemn venera- 
tion for this Constitution and the Union ; — your Committee 
would do injustice to their feelings, were they to suppress the 
avowal that they seem to themselves to be treading upon holy 
ground, and that nothing short of the most palpable necessity 
could induce them to recommend the adoption of any measures 
which, however well designed, might ultimately endanger the 
existence or mar the symetry and beauty of this most perfect 
monument of uninspired wisdom. 

Your Committee, however, cannot refrain from expressing, 
that they believe that a wild and latitudinarian construction has 
been placed upon the Constitution of the United States, by many 
in our Government, and which they believe to be well calcu- 
lated, by the exercise of such unlimited construction, to be pro- 
ductive of discontent, sectional injustice, and even oppression 
itself Your Committee believe that the Congress of the United 
States have no right to exercise any powers other than those 
which are expressly delegated, and those incidental powers 
which arise under that express grant ; and would gladly see 
those ambiguities which are contained in that instrument, which 
has been justly styled the " charter of the liberties of the Amer- 
ican people," at the proper time so amended as to set at rest 
those disputed powers which have agitated our happy Govern- 
ment for a series of years; but the turbulent spirit of the times, 
and the numberless sectional influences, which under almost 
every variety of form and shape and intensity, pervade and agi- 
tate the great divisions of our country, would, in the opinion of 
your Committee, render it imprudent to concur in the application 
contained in the resolutions of the State of Georgia at the pre- 



27^ 

sent critical period of our national affairs ; while the citizens of 
the Union are subjected to those adverse influences, it would 
seem more than madness to expect that calm deliberation — that 
mutual spirit of concession and conciliation, that broad patriot- 
ism in which alone it originated, and which should inform, direct 
and animate the proceedings of any body of men who may be 
called together to alter or amend it. Under the Constitution as 
it exists, we enjoy a freedom of laws, of order, of security and 
peace, and we enjoy it to an extent hitherto unexampled in the 
records of the world. Freedom, Americans always will possess. 
Her image is stamped so deeply upon our hearts, that like the 
form of Phidias on the shield of his Minerva, it can be obliterated 
by the annihilation alone of the substance on which it is im- 
pressed. But an unsuccessful attempt to render the Constitu- 
tion more congenial to the wishes of those States which are most 
anxious for its amendment — the angry warmth and excitement 
which would attend the struggle, and the malignant passions it 
would engender, might change this peaceful freedom, (which is 
our pride and boast,) into a freedom of fraternal wars, of blood- 
shed and desolation. 

If a Convention were called for the purpose of defining with 
more precision those parts of the Constitution which are consid- 
ered indefinite, and prohibiting the exercise of those powers 
which being considered doubtful, have constituted the ground- 
work of those violent party divisions which distract our country, 
your Committee believe that it would be productive of results 
wholly foreign to the wishes of those who are most anxious for 
the call. A Convention assembled at this time, they have every 
reason to believe, would affirm these very powers which are so 
obnoxious to a majority of the citizens of the southern sections 
of the Union. The constitutionality of a Tariff of protection 
has been affirmed by eighteen of the twenty-four States ; the 
larger States all being in favor of the affirmation. Now it 
should be recollected that the power of the smaller States is 
greater in Congress than it would be in a Convention of the 
States, called upon any plan of representation which we could 
reasonably expect would be adopted ; under the most favorable 
circumstances the co-ordinate power held by us in the Senate, 
would be merged in the mass of the popular representation of 



280 

the larger States. For a redress of the grievances, therefore 
which are assigned as the causes for the call, prudence would 
seem to dictate a reliance on the equity and patriotism of the 
National Legislature, and more especially a reliance on the pro- 
gressive influence, the intelligence and virtue of the people of 
the Union. 

In accordance with these suggestions, your Committee would 
recommend the adoption of the following resolution : 

Be it resolved by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That 
this State does not conceive it expedient to concur in the 
resolution of the State of Georgia, " making application to the 
Congress of the United States for the call of a Convention of the 
people to amend the Federal Constitution in the particulars 
therein enumerated, and in such others as the people of the 
other States may deem needful of amendment." 

Be it further resolved, That His Excellency the Governor be re- 
quested to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the Executive 
of the State of Georgia, and of each of the other States of the 
Union. 

DAVID PEMBLE, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

CHARLES LYNCH, 

President of the Senate. 



(Cr' The following Documents were received at too late a 
period, to be inserted in their proper places. 



37 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



/ 

C O M R[ E C T I C U T 



RE80L.VE8. 



At a General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, holden at Hart- 
ford, in said State, on the first Wednesday of May, in the year of 
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three. 

Upon the Report of the Joint Committee, to whom had been 
referred so much of the Message of His Excellency the Govern- 
or, as relates to the several communications from the Executive 
Departments of the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachu- 
setts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, 
South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
and Mississippi, on the subject of the Tariff Laws, Internal Im- 
provements, and Amendments of the Constitution of the United 
States : 

Resolved by this Assembly, That the Congress of the United 
States are authorized by the Constitution, to pass acts for the 
levying and collecting of duties on imposts, and thereby to raise 
a revenue sufficient for all the exigencies of the Government ; 
that in forming a Tariff of such duties, it is just and constitutional 
that the interests of our own manufactures should be regarded, 
and due encouragement and protection thereby given to them ; 
that such acts, when approved by the President, are binding on 
all the States, and on all the people of every State, and that no 
State has power to nullify, or the right to resist the execution 
of the same. 

Resolved, That it is the imperious duty of the President of the 
United States, to see that such laws are carried into execution; 
and that in the constitutional discharge of this duty, he is en- 
titled to and ought to receive the aid and support of every citi- 
zen of the Union. 

Resolved, That this Assembly do most fully approve the essen- 



286 

tial principles and the determination avowed by the President, 
in his Proclamation of the 10th of December, 1832, and in his 
subsequent Message to Congress ; and that this Assembly, and 
the people of this State, will cordially and faithfully co-operate 
with him in carrying the same into effect. 

Resolved, That the members of this Assembly cherish a sin- 
cere regard and affection for the citizens of the State of South 
Carolina, as well as for all their brethren of this great confed- 
erated family ; and that they shall ever remember with gratitude 
and pride the many and brilliant services rendered by that dis- 
tinguished State, in the struggle for independence. 

Resolved, That much would be hazarded, and nothing valu- 
able could be gained, by an attempt, at the present time, and in 
the present state of the Union, to amend the Constitution of the 
United States; and, therefore, this Assembly do not concur in 
the proposition of the State of Georgia, inviting a Convention of 
the people for that purpose. 

Resolved, That the Secretary of this State cause thirty copies 
of the foregoing Resolutions to be printed ; and that His Excel- 
lency the Governor of this State be requested to transmit one 
copy thereof to the President of the United States, and a similar 
copy thereof to the Governor of each State and Territory of the 
Union. 

A true copy of record, 

Examined and certified by 

THOMAS DAY, Secretary. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



/ 

MARYL.A]\D« 



RESOLYE^s 



By the House of Delegates, Feb. 9, 1833. 

The Joint Committee, to whom was referred the Ordinance and 
other Documents, transmitted us by the Governor of South 
Carolina, and that part of our late Governor's Message, relat- 
ing thereto, have given the subject that attention which its 
serious import demands, and report the following : 

Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That in express- 
ing our opinion upon the Ordinance of Nullification, and the re- 
cent proceedings of South Carolina, it is our duty to declare our 
opinions firmly on the principles assailed, and to expostulate 
mildly and affectionately with her. 

Resolved, That we hold these principles to be incontroverti- 
ble, that the Government of the United States was adopted by 
the people of the different States, and established " in order to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic 
tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the gen- 
eral welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
our posterity ;" that it possesses all the powers necessary for the 
purposes for which it was instituted ; that it is irreconcileable with 
the objects and purposes for which the Constitution was adopt- 
ed, to suppose that it contains in itself the principles of its own 
destruction, or has failed to endue the Government, created by 
it, with the essential power of self-preservation. 

That it is not in the power of any one State to annul an act of 
the General Government, as void or unconstitutional. 

Tiiat the power of deciding controversies among the different 
States, or between the General Government and a State, is 
. reposed in the Federal Judiciary, and that it is an act of usurpa- 
38 



290 

tion for any State to arrogate to herself jurisdiction in such 
cases. 

That the Supreme Court is the only tribunal, having conclu- 
sive jurisdiction in cases involving the constitutionality of the 
acts of the General Government. 

That whenever a State is aggrieved by the Constitutional acts 
of the General Government, the fifth article of the Constitution 
prescribes the remedy, declaring that " the Congress, whenever 
two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose 
amendments to this Constitution, or on the application of the 
Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a Con- 
vention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall 
be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, 
when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several 
States, or by Conventions, in three-fourths thereof, as the one 
or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by Congress." 

That the right to annul a law of the General Government, as- 
sumed by one State, is "incompatible with the existence of the 
Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, 
unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on 
which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for 
which it was formed." 

That our fellow citizens of South Carolina, who remain faith- 
ful to the Constitution and laws of the United States, are enti- 
tled to the protection of the General Government, both for their 
property and their persons. 

That if any State, regardless of the constitutional remedies 
which are afforded for every grievance and oppression, should 
attempt to withdraw from the Union, it is the right and duty of 
the General Government, to protect itself, and the other States, 
from the fatal consequences of any such attempt. 

Further Resolved, That the Ordinance of Nullification of 
South Carolina, is calculated to mislead her citizens from the 
true character of the Federal Government, and the just alle- 
giance, which they owe to that Government. 

Resolved, That this State is ardently attached to the Union — 
that it does not desire any additional powers to be conferred on 
the General Government, but wishes every delegated power to 
be exerted that has a tendency to strengthen the bonds that 



291 

unite us, and to fortify the hope that the Union will be per- 
petual. 

Resolved, That this State does not recognize the power in any 
State, to nullify a law of Congress, nor to secede from the Un- 
ion, and that it will sustain the General Government in the ex- 
ercise of every constitutional means to preserve unimpaired the 
integrity of the United States. 

Resolved, That our mutual interests and general welfare impel 
us to guard with care, the integrity of the Constitution, and to 
appeal in the most solemn and affectionate manner to the other 
States, and particularly to South Carolina, to reciprocate with 
this State, its well founded attachment to the Union, and to op- 
pose, with becoming firmness, every infraction of those great 
and fundamental principles of the Constitution, which form the 
only basis on which our happy institutions can with safety re- 
pose. 

Resolved, That we deeply deplore the excitement which has 
prompted our sister State of South Carolina to the attitude of 
defiance, which she now exhibits ; that however extravagant her 
irritation may be deemed, or impatient her proceedings, we will 
not renounce the hope that a calmer feeling will yet enable her 
to see the dreadful consequences of repelling the laws of the 
Union. That, conspicuous and persevering as her valor was in 
achieving the great results which gave birth to our Union, she 
will yet remember the glory of her early toils, and will offer up, 
in the sanctuary of the Union, her Ordinance and her conse- 
quent laws, a patriotic sacrifice to the cause of American liberty 
and union. 

Resolved, That the Tariff Laws of 1828, and of 1832, are 
within the Legitimate exercise of the constitutional powers of 
Congress, but we will acquiesce with pleasure, in any modifica- 
tion of those laws, which the wisdom of Congress may devise 
for allaying the excitement on that subject, in the Southern por- 
tion of our country, which shall reduce the amount of revenue 
to the necessary expenditures of the Government, and at the 
same time sufficiently guard those great interests which have 
grown up under the system of protection. 

Resolved, That the following words from Washington's Fare- 
well Address, should at all times, but particularly at the present 



292 

alarming crisis, be impressed upon the heart of every American: 
" The unity of Government, which constitutes you one people, 
is also now dear to you, it is justly so, for it is a main pillar of 
the edifice of your real independence ; the support of your 
tranquillity at home, your peace abroad ; of your safety, of your 
prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize." 

" It is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate 
the immense value of your National Union to your collective 
and individual happiness, that you should cherish a (^rdial, ha- 
bitual and immoveable attachment to it ; accustoming yourselves 
to think and speak of it as the palladium of your political safety 
and prosperity, watching for its preservation with jealous anx- 
iety, discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion 
that it can, in any event be abandoned, and indignantly frown- 
ing upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any por- 
tion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties 
which now link together the various parts." 

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to transmit a copy 
of the above Resolutions to the President of the United States, 
to the Executives of the several States, and to each of our Sen- 
ators and Representatives in Congress. 

By order, 

G. G. BREWER, Clerk, 

By the Senate, Feb. 26, 1833. 
Read and assented to. 

JOS. H. NICHOLSON, Clerk. 



JOURNAL 



CONVENTION 



THE PEOPLE 



SOUTH CAROLINA, 



ASSEMBLED AT COLUMBIA, ON THE 19TH NOVEMBER, 1832, 
AND AGAIN ON THE IITH MARCH, 1833. 



JOURNAL 



Monday, November 19, 1832. 

Pursuant to an Act of the Legislature of the State of South 
Carolina, entitled "An Act to provide for the calling of a Con- 
vention of the People of this State," passed on the 26th of Oc- 
tober, 1832, the Delegates of the several Election Districts of 
this State, assembled in the Hall of Representatives, in the 
Town of Columbia, on this day at twelve o'clock. 

On motion of Gen. J. B. Earle, the Hon. Stephen D. Mil- 
ler, of Claremont, was called to the Chair, and Mr. A. Burt, of 
Abbeville, appointed Secretary. 

The credentials of the following individuals were then ex- 
hibited, and their names enrolled as Members of the Conven- 
tion. 

From Greenville. 
B. F. Perry, Thomas P. Brockman, Silas R. Whitten. 

From Sparienbiirg. 
John S. Rowland, J. S. Richardson, J. B. O'Neal, James Crook. 

From Laurens. 

Archibald Young, William Arnold, John S. James, A. Fuller, 

Robert Long. 

From Abbeville. 
George M'Duffie, John Lipscomb, John Logan, A. Bowie, Sam- 
uel L. Watt, A. Burt. 

From York. 

Benjamin Chambers, L A. Campbell, James A. Black, James 

Moore, John L. Miller. 



296 

From Marlborough. 
Benjamin Rogers, Nicholas Ware. 

From Union. 

J. S. Sims, Thomas Ray, A. Lancaster, John Littlejohn, George 

Douglas. 

From Kershaw. 
Everard Cure ton, Chapman Levy, John Chesnut, C. J. Shannon. 

From Chesterfield. 
P. Phillips, James R. Ervin, Alfred M. Lowry. 

From Darlington. 
William H. Cannon, S. B. Wilkins, Robert Ervin. 

From Marion. 
A. L. Gregg, Thomas Harllee, William Evans. 

From Williamsburg. 
T. D. Singleton, Sen., William Waties, P. G. Gourdin. 

From Clarendon. 
John P. Richardson, Richard J. Manning, N. R. Burgess. 

From Claremont. 

Stephen D. Miller, John B. Miller, James G. Spann, Stephen 

Lacoste. 

From All Saints. 
Peter Vaught. 

From Prince George, Winyaw. 
Philip Tidyman, Allard H. Belin. 

From Saint Peter^s. 
J. Hamilton, Jr., A. J. Lawton, John S. Maner. 

From Saiiit Lukeh. 
A. Huguenin, T. E. Screven, James Mongin Smith. 



297 

From Saint Helena. 
R. W. Barnwell, Charles G. Capers. 

From Saint James, Goose Creek. 
Isaac Bradweli, Jr., G. H. Smith. 

From Saint Thomas and Saint Dennis. 
Francis D. Quash, John L. Nowell. 

From Saint Johnh, Berkley. 
Peter Gailliard, Jr., William Porcher. 

From Saiiit John's, Colleton. 
William M. Murray. 

From Chester. 

R. G. Mills, John Douglas, Thomas B. Woodward, Thomas G. 

Blewett, William Stringfellow. 

From Fairfield. 

William Harper, D. H. Means, Edward G. Palmer, John B. 

McCall, William Smith. 

From Richland. 

Pierce M. Butler, William C. Clifton, Sterling C. Williamson, 

Sen., James Adams, John G. Brown. 

From Saint Philip^s and Saint MichaeVs. 
James Hamilton Sen., Richard B. Baker, Sen., Robert J. 
Turnbull, S. L. Simons, John Magrath, Charles Parker, Barnard 
E. Bee, Elias Vanderhorst, Peter J. Shand, Nathaniel Heyward, 
Robert Y. Hayne, C. J. Colcock, John Ball, John L. Wilson, 
James Lynah, C. C. Pinckney, Philip Cohen. 

From Christ Church. 
Jacob Bond FOn, James Anderson. 

From Saint James'', Santee. 

Samuel Cordes. 
39 



298 

From Saint Stephen's. 
W. Dubose, Theodore L. Gourdin, 

From Saint Matthew'' s . 
R. P. McCord, T. J. Goodwyn. 

From Saint Andreid's. 
Benjamin Adams, John Rivers. 

From Saint PauPs. 
F. Y. Legare, Thomas W. Boone. 

From Saint Bartholomeiv's. 
W. C. Pinckney, F. H. Elmore, Isham Walker. 

From Prince William^s. 
Wm. Williams, Thomas H. Colcock, J. B. Ulmer. 

From Orange. 
Edmund J. Felder, Donald Rowe. 

From Barmvell. 
Jennings O'Bannon, Stephen Smith, L. M. Ayer, J. G. Brown. 

From Lexington. 
West Caughman, Jacob H. King, Edwin J. Scott. 

From Edgefield. 

James Spann, John Key, John Bauskett, Abner Whatley, John 

S. Jeter, R. G. Mays, F. H. Wardlaw. 

From Pendleton. 
R. Anderson, Thomas Harrison, J. B. Earle, Thomas Pinck- 
ney, J. T. Whitefield, Francis Burt, Jr., F. W. Symmes, Bailey 
Barton. 

From Newberry. 

Job Johnston, George W. Glenn, John Counts, John K. Griffin, 

John Hatton. 

From Lancaster. 
Samuel R. Gibson. 



299 

On motion of Judge Harper, the Convention now proceeded 
to the election of a President. Colonels Pinckney, of Pendle- 
ton, and Butler, of Richland, and Mr. Black, of York, having 
been appointed a Committee to count the votes, reported that 
His Excellency James Hamilton, Jr., Governor and Commander 
in Chief in and over the State, has been duly elected President 
of the Convention. 

On motion of Judge Harper, a Committee was appointed to 
inform Governor Hamilton of his election, and to conduct him 
to the chair. The Committee consisted of the Hon. Robert Y. 
Hayne, the Hon. George McDuffie, and the Hon. R. W. Barn- 
well. The President, in a short address, returned his grateful 
acknowledgments for the honor conferred, and entered upon the 
duties of his station. 

Col. Butler now moved that the Convention should go into 
the election of a Clerk, which being agreed to, Judge Colcock 
nominated Mr. Isaac W. Hayne. Messrs. Elmore, Cohen, and 
Barton, were appointed a Committee to count the votes. 

While the Committee had retired. Judge Harper moved that 
the Messenger and Door Keeper of the House of Representatives, 
should be appointed Messenger and Door Keeper of the Con- 
vention, which was agreed to ; and on motion of the Hon. John 
L. Wilson, Mr. A. S. Johnston was appointed Printer. 

Col. Elmore, on the part of the Committee appointed to 
count the votes for Clerk, now reported Isaac W. Hayne, Esq., 
duly elected Clerk of the Convention. 

On motion of Col. I'On, a Committee was appointed to draft 
and report rules for the regulation of the Convention during its 
further session. The Committee consisted of Col. I'On, Col. 
Thomas Pinckney, and the Hon. J. B. O'Neal. 

On motion of Judge Colcock, it was ordered that Clergymen 
should be invited to open the proceedings of each day with 
prayer. 

Judge Colcock, then introduced the following Resolution : 

" Resolved, That the Act ' to provide for the calling of a Con- 
vention of the People of this State,' be referred to a Select Com- 
mittee, to consist of twenty-one members, and to be nominated 
by the President, with instructions to consider and report there- 
on, and especially as to the measures proper to be adopted by 



300 

this Convention, in reference to ' the violations of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, in the enactment by Congress, on di- 
vers occasions, of laws laying duties and imposts for the purpose 
of encouraging and protecting domestic manufactures, and for 
other unwarrantable purposes.' " 

This Resolution having been considered and adopted, Gen. 
Hayne moved that the Convention stand adjourned until 10 
o'clock to-morrow, in order that time might be allowed the Pre- 
sident for the selection of the Committee, which being agreed 
to, the Convention adjourned accordingly. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



Tuesday, November 20, 1832. 

The Convention met according to adjournment. After a pray- 
er from the Rev. Mr. Ray, the Journal of the proceedings of the 
day previous was read. The following gentlemen then appeared 
and enrolled their names as members of the Convention : Henry 
Middleton, from Greenville, Minor Clinton, from Lancaster, M. 
Jacobs, from St. Helena. 

Col. rOn, on the part of the Committee to draft Rules for the 
regulation of the Convention, then made the following Report, 
to wit : 

RULES FOR THE CONVENTION. 

The Committee appointed to draft Rules for the government of 
the Convention in its deliberations, beg leave to submit the 
following : 

1. The President and one hundred and twelve members shall 
be a quorum to transact business. 

2. If any member shall break the Convention, or absent him- 
self without leave, he shall be sent for at his own expense, and 
be subject to the censure of the Convention. 



301 

3. No member shall speak more than twice to the same point 
without leave of the Convention. 

4. Each member, when speaking, shall address himself to the 
chair, standing, and uncovered, at his place. 

5. If two members rise to speak nearly at the same time, the 
President shall decide which was first up. 

6. Every member, when speaking, shall adhere to the point 
before the Convention, and shall not be interrupted unless he 
departs from it, when he may be called to order. 

7. When a question of order arises, it shall be determined by 
the President in the first instance, but any member may appeal 
from his determination, to the Convention. 

8. When a motion is made and seconded, it shall, if required 
by a member, be reduced to writing, and delivered in at the 
table. 

9. When a question is put by the President, and the Conven- 
tion divides, the Clerk shall, at the request of any seven members 
present, take down and enter on the Journals, the names of all 
those members who vote for and against the question, and have 
them published and printed in any Gazette of the State. 

10. When the President desires to be heard, the members 
shall lake their seats, and keep order whilst he is speaking. 

11. When a motion is made for adjournment, and seconded, 
no question shall be debated until the Convention have decided 
on that motion. 

J. B. TON, 

Chairman of the Committee. 



The Report having been adopted, Col. POn moved that two 
hundred and fifty copies should be printed for the use of the 
members, which was agreed to. 

Joseph L. Stephens and Alfred Huger appeared, and enrolled 
their names as Delegates from St. John's, Colleton, and Spar- 
tanburg. 

The President, under the Resolution of the day previous, now 
appointed the following gentlemen to constitute the Select 
Committee of twenty-one, to consider and report upon the Act 



302 

of the Legislature, entitled " An Act to provide for the calling 
of a Convention of the People of this State," to wit : 

Hon. Charles J. Colcock, 

Gen. J. B. Earle, Hon. Robert Y. Hayne, 

Hon. J. B. O'Neal, Hon. S. D. Miller, 

Col. W. C. Pinckney, Hon. Geo. McDuffie, 

Chancellor Johnston, R. J. Turnbull, Esq., 

Hon. J. K. Griffin, Hon. R. W. Barnwell, 

Benjamin Rogers, Esq., J. R. Ervin, Esq., 

Col. J. Bond FOn, Col. P. M. Butler, 

T. D. Singleton, Esq., Col. John Bauskett, 

James A. Black, Esq., Hon. R. J. Manning, 

Hon. William Harper, Hon. Henry JMiddleton. 

J. A. Keith, of Prince George, Winyaw, appeared, and enroll- 
ed his name. 

On motion of Judge Colcock. the Convention then adjourned 
until one o'clock to-morrov^^. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



Wednesday, November 21, 1832. 

The Convention met according to adjournment, and the pro- 
ceedings were opened with a prayer from the Rev. Mr. Ray. 

The roll being called, the following gentlemen answered to 
their names, viz : — B. Adams, James Adams, Ayer, J. Anderson, 
Robert Anderson, Arnold, Baker, Ball, Bee, Boone, Barnwell, 
Bradwell, Blewett, Butler, J. G. Brown, Richland, J. G. Brown, 
Barnwell, Bauskett, A. Burt, Francis Burt, Jr., Barton, Brockman, 
Bowie, Burgess, Belin, Cohen, Cordes, Thomas H. Colcock, 
Capers, Clifton, Caughman, Counts, Crooke, Chambers, Camp- 
bell, Cureton, Chesnut, Cannon, Clinton, Dubose, Dawson, John 
Douglas, George Douglas, Elmore, Earle, James R. Ervin, Rob- 
ert Ervin, William Evans, Felder, Fuller, T. L. Gourdin, P. G. 



SOS 

Gourdin, Goodwyn, Gailliard, Griffin, Glenn, Gibson, J. Hamil- 
ton, Sen., Heyward, Harper, Hatton, Harllee, Huguenin, Alfred 
Huger, rOn, Jeter, Johnston, James, Jacobs, Keith, Key, Levy, 
Lowry, Lacoste, Lynah, Legare, Lawton, Long, Lipscomb, Lo- 
gan, Littlejohn, Lancaster, Magrath, Manning, Maner, Murray, 
Mills, Means, Moore, John L. Miller, Stephen D. Miller, John 
B. Miller, McCord, Middleton, Nowell, O'Neale, O'Bannon, P. 
Phillips, Parker, Porcher, Palmer, Perry, C. C. Pinckney, 
Thomas Pinckney, Quash, John P. Richardson, Rivers, Rowe, 
Rowland, Rogers, Ray, James G. Spann, James Spann, Simons, 
Shand, James M. Smith, G. H. Smith, William Smith, Stephen 
Smith, Stringfellow, Scott, Symmes, Sims, Shannon, Singleton, 
Stevens, Screven, Turnbull, Tyler, Tidyman, Ulmer, Vaught, 
Vanderhorst, Wilson, Walker, Williams, Woodward, Williamson, 
Wardlavv, Whatley, Whitefield, Whitten, Watt, Waties, Wilkins, 
Ware, Warren, Young. 

The Journal of the day previous having been read, this was 
announced by the President as the proper time for presenting 
Reports from Committees. 

Gen. J. B. Earle, of the Select Committee, to which was re- 
ferred the consideration of the Act of the Legislature, providing 
for the call of a Convention, in the absence of the Chairman, 
stated, on the part of the Committee, that they had not found it 
practicable to prepare a Report for to-day, and moved that fur- 
ther lime should be allowed them ; which was agreed to. 

Mr. A. M. Lowry, from Chesterfield, then introduced the fol- 
lowing Resolution, viz : 

" Resolved, That the tenth section of the first article of the 
Constitution of this State, be altered and made to read as fol- 
lows : 

" Senators and Members of the House of Representatives, 
shall be chosen on the second Monday in October next, and on 
the same days in every year thereafter, in such manner, and at 
such time as are herein directed. And shall meet on the fourth 
Monday in November, annually, at Columbia, (which shall re- 
main the seat of Government until otherwise determined by the 
concurrence of two-thirds of both branches of the whole Repre- 
sentation,) unless the casualties of war, or contagious disorders 
should render it unsafe to meet there ; in either of which cases, 



304 

the Governor or Commander in Chief for the time being, may, 
by Proclamation, appoint a more secure and convenient place 
of meeting." 

The question of consideration being put by the President, the 
Convention refused to consider this Resolution. 

Benjamin A. Markley, from St. Philip's and St. Michael's, and 
J. Walter Philips, from All Saints, appeared and enrolled their 
names as members of the Convention. The Convention then 
adjourned until to-morrow at one o'clock. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention, 



Thursday, November, 22, 1832. 

The Convention met according to adjournment, and the pro- 
ceedings were opened with a prayer by the Rev. Mr. Ware. 

The roll being called, the following gentlemen answered to 
their names, viz : — B. Adams, James Adams, Ayer, J. Anderson, 
Robert Anderson, Arnold, Baker, Ball, Bee, Boone, Barnwell, 
Bradwell, Blewett, Butler, J. G. Brown, Richland, J. G. Brown, 
Barnwell, Baushstt, A. Burt, Francis Burt, Barton, Brockman, 
Bowie, Black, Burgess, Belin, Cohen, Cordes, Thomas H. Col- 
cock, C. J. Colcock, Capers, Clifton, Caughman, Counts, 
Crooke, Chambers, Campbell, Cureton, Chesnut, Cannon, Clin- 
ton, Dubose, Dawson, John Douglas, Geo. Douglas, Elmore, 
Earle, James R. Ervin, Robert Ervin, Wm. Evans, Felder, Ful- 
ler, T. L. Gourdin, P. G. Gourdin, Goodvvyn, Gailliard, Griffin, 
Glenn, Gibson, Gregg, James Hamilton, Sen., Ilayne, Ileyward, 
Harper, Harrison, Hatton, Harllee, Huguenin, Alfred Huger, 
rOn, Jeter, Johnston, James, Jacobs, Keith, Key, King, Levy, 
Lowry, Lacoste, Legare, Lawton, Long, Lipscomb, Logan, Lit- 
tlejohn, Lancaster, Magrath, IMarkley, Manning, Manor, Murray, 
Mills, McCall, Means, Mays, Moore, J. L. Miller, S. D. Miller, 
John B. Miller, McCord, Nowell, O'Neale, O'Bannon, P. Phil- 



305 

lips, J. W. Phillips, Parker, Porcher, Palmer, Perry, C. C. Pinck- 
ney, W. C. Pinckney, Thomas Pinckney, Quash, J. P. Richard- 
son, J. S. Richardson, Rivers, Rowe, Rowland, Rogers, Ray, J. 
G. Spann, James Spann, Simons, Shand, J. M. Smith, G. H. 
Smith, Wm. Smith, Stephen Smith, Stringfellow, Scott, Symmes, 
Sims, Shannon, Singleton, Stevens, Screven, Turnbull, Tyler, 
Tidyman, Ulmer, Vaught, Vanderhorst, Wilson, Walker, Wil- 
liams, Woodward, Whitefield, Whitten, Watt, Waties, Wilkins, 
Ware, Whatley, Young. 

The Journal of the day previous having been read, Samuel 
Warren, from St. James, Santee, and D. E. Huger, from King- 
ston, appeared and enrolled their names as members of the Con- 
vention. 

Judge Colcock, from the Select Committee of twenty-one, in- 
formed the Convention that the Committee was ready to report, 
and moved that the reading of the Report should be dispensed 
with, and that it should lie on the table, and be ordered to be 
printed. Judge O'Neal moved to amend this motion, so as to 
make this Report the order of the day for Saturday. To this 
Judge Colcock objected, and obtained leave to withdraw his 
motion, upon which Judge O'Neal withdrew his amendment. 
Judge Colcock then called to his assistance Gen. Hayne, one of 
the Committee, by whom the Report was read to the Conven- 
tion. An Ordinance, accompanying the Report, was then read 
by the Chairman. 

At the motion of Col. Barnwell, the Report and Ordinance 
were ordered to lie on the table, be printed, and made the order 
of the day for to-morrow. 

Mr. Wilson moved to amend this motion, by specifying the 
number of copies to be printed, and proposed five thousand, 
which Col. Pinckney, of St. Bartholomew's, moved to amend, by 
inserting ten thousand instead of five ; but on the suggestion of 
Judge Harper, that it would be best to defer the printing of a 
larger number of copies than were needed for the use of the 
Convention, until the Report should be finally adopted, the 

\ amendments were withdrawn. 

I The following Resolution was then introduced by the Hon. 

; Henry Middleton, a Delegate from Greenville, to wit : 

' •' Whereas, the Sovereignty of the State of South Carolina, re- 

i 40 



306 

sides in the aggregate body of freemen, inhabiting the territory; 
and, consequently, all just legislation can be alone founded upon 
the collective will of a majority of that body. And, whereas, the 
supreme will of this body of freemen can only be collected 
either by an actual vote of the majority taken in primary assem- 
blies, or by the election of Delegates, chosen in numbers, pro- 
portionate to the number of free white men, in each District 
and Parish of the State, so as to constitute an equal and ade- 
quate representation of the people thereof. And, whereas, the 
Convention now actually here assembled, under the rerom- 
mendation of the Legislature, is apportioned on a compound 
ratio of population and of property, which may be, and probably 
is, an equitable apportionment for the purposes of taxation and 
municipal regulations; but is by no means adequate or com- 
petent, to the exercise of the highest attributes of sovereignty, 
by reason of the want of a full and equal representation of the 
people, a defect which cannot be remedied by any enactment 
of the Legislature. And, whereas, any act amounting to an ex- 
ercise of sovereignty, on the part of the portion of the people, 
here convened at this tijne, might be considered as a manifest 
and palpable usurpation of power, possessed alone by the whole 
people ; therefore, 

" Resolved, That this Convention, deeming itself incompetent, 
for the reasons above assigned, to wield the sovereign authority 
of the people it unequally represents, doth remand to the 
Legislature, the high matters referred, by the Act of the 25th 
October last, with a recommendation to the said Legislature, 
that they reconsider, at their next stated meeting, the whole 
question ; and if, according to the constitutional provision, two- 
thirds of both branches shall agree so to do, then, and in that 
case to recommit the said subject matter to a Convention, 
wherein the representation of the people shall be full and com- 
plete, and whit;h will be thereby competent to determine such 
questions of sovereign right, as they may see fit to consider as 
aflTecting the interest of the State of South Carolina, her dignity 
and honor." 

The Hon. George M'Dufl^e moved the question of considera- 
tion. Judge Huger requested the withdrawal of the motion, 
that the Resolution might be freely discussed j but the question 



J 



307 

being insisted on, and put by the President, the Convention re- 
fused to consider the Resolution. 

Col. Anderson, of Pendleton, submitted to the Convention a 
Memorial from sundry citizens of Pendleton District, praying 
that the Constitution might be so amended as to make two Elec- 
tion Districts of the two Judicial Districts into which Pendleton 
is divided. The question of consideration being moved by 
Judge Harper, the Convention refused to consider the Memo- 
rial. 

On motion of Gen. Hayne, it was then ordered that the Se- 
lect Committee of twenty-one have leave to sit again, and the 
Convention adjourned until twelve o'clock to-morrow. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



Friday, November 23, 1832. 

The Convention met according to adjournment; and after a 
prayer from the Rev. Mr. Goulding, the roll was called, and the 
following gentlemen answered to their names, viz : — B. Adams, 
James Adams, Ayer, James Anderson, R. Anderson, Arnold, Ba- 
ker, Ball, Bee, Boone, Bradwell, Blewett, Butler, J. G. Brown, 
Richland, J. G. Brown, Barnivell, Bauskett, A. Burt, Francis 
Burt, Jr., Barton, Brockman, Bowie, Black, Burgess, Cohen, 
Cordes, T. H. Colcock, C. J. Colcock, Capers, Clifton, Caugh- 
man, Counts, Crooke, Chambers, Campbell, Cureton, Chesnut, 
Cannon, Clinton, Dubose, Dawson, John Douglas, Geo. Doug- 
las, Elmore, Earle, J. R. Ervin, Robert Ervin, Wm. Evans, 
Felder, Fuller, T. L. Gourdin, P. G. Gourdin, Goodwyn, Gail- 
liard, Griffin, Glenn, Gibson, Gregg, J. Hamilton, Sen., Hayne, 
Heyward, Harper, Harrison, Hatton, Harllee, Huguenin, Alfred 
Huger, FOn, Jeter, Johnston, James, Jacobs, Keith, Key, King 
Levy, Lovvry, Lacoste, Legare, J^awton, Long, Lipscomb, Lo- 
gan, Littlejohn, Lancaster, Magrath, Manning, Maner, Murray, 
Mills, McCall, Means, Mays, Moore, J. L. Miller, S. D. Miller, 



308 

John B. Miller, McCord, Nowell, O'Neale, O'Bannon, P. Phil- 
lips, J. W. Phillips, Parker, Porcher, Palmer, Perry, C. C. 
Pinckney, Wm. C. Pinckney, Thomas Pinckney, Quash, J. P. 
Richardson, J. S. Richardson, Rivers, Rowe, Rowland, Rogers. 
Ray, J. G. Spann, James Spann, Simons, Shand, J. M. Smith, 
G. H. Smith, Wm. Smith, Stephen Smith, Stringfellow, Scott,' 
Symmes, Sims, Shannon, Singleton, Stevens, Screven, Turnbull, 
Tyler, Tidyman, Ulmer, Vanderhorst, Wilson Walker, Williams,' 
Woodward, Williamson, Wardlaw, Whatley, Whitten, Watt 
Waties, Wilkins, Ware, Warren, Young. 

The Journal of the previous day having been read, the Hon. 
R. W. Barnwell, offered the following Resolution, which was 
agreed to, viz : 

^^ Resolved, That the President of the Senate, and Speaker of 
the House of Representatives, be invited to take seats upon the 
floor in the Chamber in which the Convention is now assem- 
bled." 

Judge Colcock, from the Committee of twenty-one, made a 
further Report to the Convention, consisting of an Address to 
the People of the State, which having been read by Robert J 
Turnbull, Esq., on motion of Judge Colcock, it was ordered to 
he on the table and to be printed. 

Mr. Samuel R. Gibson, a Delegate from Lancaster, presented 
a Memorial from a portion of the citizens of that District, 
praying an alteration of the Constitution as to the basis of rep- 
resentation in the State Legislature. 

Mr. S. D. Miller moved that the Memorial be laid on the 
table. 

Mr. McDuffie moved the question of consideration. 

The President deciding the first motion to be first in order, 
the question was taken, and the Memorial ordered to be laid on 
the table. 

The Hon. J. L. Wilson then introduced the following Reso- 
lution, viz : 

" Whereas, the Convention of the People of the State of South 
Carolina, having learned with deep and unfeigned regret, the 
death of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, the last surviving signer 
of the Declaration of Independence, and lately the only living 



309 



link that connected us with that important event — as a testimony 
of respect to the memory of the deceased, 

" Resolved, That the members of this Convention wear crape 
on the left arm, for the space of thirty days." 

This Resolution having been adopted by the unanimous vote 
of the Convention, it was ordered to be so entered on the Jour- 
nal of the proceedings. 

The Ordinance, which was made the order of the day, was 
now taken up for consideration. The Ordinance having been 
read by the Clerk, Col. Wilson moved that it should be read 
again, clause by clause ; but at the suggestion of Judge Col- 
cock, that further time for consideration was desirable, the mo- 
tion was withdrawn. 

Judge Colcock then moved that the consideration of the Or- 
dinance should be made the order of the day for to-morrow, and 
that the Convention should stand adjourned until 11 o'clock on 
that day, which being agreed to, the Convention adjourned ac- 
cordingly. 



ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



Saturday, November 24, 1832. 

The Convention met according to adjournment, and the pro- 
ceedings were opened with a prayer by the Rev. Mr. Freeman. 

A Parchment Roll was then exhibited, on which, at the Pre- 
sident's request, the members enrolled their names, with the 
respective Election Districts which had delegated them, which 
was ordered to be deposited with the Records of the Conven- 
tion. The following gentlemen were found to be present : 

From Greenville. 

B. F. Perry, Thomas P. Brockman, Silas R. Whitten, Henry 

Middleton. 



310 

From Spartanburg. 

John S. Rowland, J. S. Richardson, J. B. O'Neal, James Crooke, 

Alfred Huger, J. P. Evans. 

From Laurens. 

Archibald Young, William Arnold, John S. James, A. Fuller, 

Robert Long. 

Fro:n Abbeville. 
George M'Duffie, John Lipscomb, John Logan, A. Bowie, Sam- 
uel L. Watt, A. Burt. 

From York. 

Benjamin Chambers, L A. Campbell, James A. Black, James 

Moore, John L. Miller. 

From Marlborough. 
Benjamin Rogers, Nicholas Ware. 

From Union. 

J. S. Sims, Thomas Ray, A. Lancaster, John Littlejohn, George 

Douglas. 

From Kershaw. 
Everard Cureton, Chapman Levy, John Chesnut, C. J. Shannon. 

From Chesterfield. 
P. Phillips, James R. Ervin, Alfred M. Lowry. 

From Darlington. 
William H. Cannon, S. B. Wilkins, Robert Ervin. 

From Marion. 
A. L. Gregg, Thomas Harllee, William Evans. 

From Williamsburg. 
T. D. Singleton, Sr., William Waties, P. G. Gourdin. 

From Clarendon. 
John P. Richardson, Richard J. Manning, W. R. Burgess. 



311 

From Claremoni. 

Stephen D. Miller, John B. Miller, James G. Spann, Stephen 

Lacoste. 

F7-om All Saints. 
Peter Vaught, J. Walter Phillips. 

From Prince George, Winyaw. 
Philip Tidyman, Allard H. Bclin, J. A. Keith. 

From Saint Peter^s. 
J. Hamilton, Jr., A. J. Lawton, John S. Maner. 

From Saint Luke's. 
A. Huguenin, T. E. Screven, James Mongin Smith. 

From Saint Helena. 
R. W. Barnwell, Charles G. Capers, M. Jacobs. 

From Saint James, Goose Creek. 
Isaac Bradwell, Jr., G. H. Smith. 

From Saint Thomas and Saint Dennis. 
Francis D. Quash, John L. Nowell. 

From Saint John's, Berkley. 
Peter Gailliard, Jr., William Porcher, J. H. Dawson. 

From Saint John's, Colleton. 
William M. Murray, Joseph L. Stevens. 

From Chester. 

R. G. Mills, John Douglas, Thomas B. Woodward, Thomas G. 

Bicwett, William Stringfellow. 

From Fairfield. 

William Harper, D. H. Means, Edward G. Palmer, John B. 

McCall, William Smith. 



312 

From Richland. 

Pierce M. Butler, William C. Clifton, Sterling C. Williamson, 

Senr., James Adams, John G. Brown. 

From Saint Philip's and Saint MichaePs. 
James Hamilton Senr., Richard B. Baker, Senr., Robert J. 
Turnbull, S. L. Simons, John Magrath, Charles Parker, Barnard 
E. Bee, Elias Vanderhorst, Peter J. Shand, Nathaniel Heyward, 
Robert Y. Hayne, C. J. Colcock, John Ball, John L. Wilson, 
James Lynah, C. C. Pinckney, Philip Cohen, B. A. Markley. 

From Christ Church. 
Jacob Bond lOn, James Anderson. 

From Saint James's, Santee. 
Samuel Cordes, Samuel Warren. 

From Saint Stephen's. 
W. Dubose, Theodore L. Gourdin. 

From Saint Matthew's. 
R. P. McCord, T. J. Goodwyn. 

From Saint Andrew's. 
Benjamin Adams, John Rivers. 

Fro7n Saint Paul's. 
F. Y. Legare, Thomas W. Boone. 

Frojn Saint Bartholomew's. 
W. C. Pinckney, F. H. Elmore, Isham Walker. 

From Prince William's. 
Wm. Williams, Thomas H. Colcock, J. B. Ulmer. 

From Orange. 
Edmund J. Felder, Donald Rowe, Elisha Tyler. 

From Barnwell. 
Jennings O'Bannon, Stephen Smith, L. M. Ayer, J. G. Brown. 



313 

From Lexington. 
West Caughman, Jacob H. King, Edwin J. Scott. 

From Edgefield. 

James Spann, John Key, John Bauskett, Abner Whatley, John 

S. Jeter, R. G. Mays, F. H. Wardlaw. 

From Pendleton. 
R. Anderson, Thomas Harrison, J. B. Earle, Thomas Pinck- 
ney, J. T. Whitefield, Francis Burt, Jr., F. W. Symmes, Bailey 
Barton. 

From JVeioberry. 

Job Johnston, George W. Glenn, John Counts, John K. Griffin, 

John Hatton. 

From Lancaster. 
Samuel R. Gibson, Miner Clinton. 

From Kingston. 
D. E. Huger. 

The Journal of the day previous having been read, on motion 
of Chancellor Johnston, a correction of the Journal was ordered, 
and made accordingly. 

Judge Colcock, on the part of the Select Committee of twen- 
ty-one, announced that the Committee were ready with a fur- 
ther Report, consisting of an Address to the People of the 
United States. This Address having been read by the Hon. 
George McDuffie, was, on motion of Mr. Turnbull, adopted by 
the Convention. 

The Ordinance which had been made the special order of the 
day, was now taken up for consideration. Having been read by 
the Clerk, Judge Colcock moved so to amend it as to exempt 
the members of the Legislature from the oath required of the 
civil and military officers of the State, which amendment was 
adopted. 

Mr. Turnbull moved to amend the title of the Ordinance, by 
41 



314 

striking out the words " provide for arresting the operation of," 
and substituting the word " Nullify," so that when amended it 
should read, " An Ordinance to Nullify certain Acts of the Con- 
gress," &.C. This amendment was likewise adopted. 

The question was then taken on the adoption of the Ordi- 
nance thus amended. Seven members having risen for the 
Ayes and Noes, they were taken accordingly, and found to be 
as follows : 

Ayes — B. Adams, James Adams, Ayer, James Anderson, Rob- 
ert Anderson, Arnold, Baker, Ball, Bee, Boone, Barnwell, Brad- 
well, Blewett, Butler, J. G. Brown, John G. Brown, Bauskett, 
A. Burt, F. Burt, Barton, Bowie, Black, Belin, Cohen, Cordes, 
T. H. Colcock, C. J. Colcock, Capers, Clifton, Caughman, 
Counts, Chambers, Campbell, Dubose, Dawson, J. Douglas, G. 
Douglas, Elmore, Earle, W. Evans, Felder, Fuller, T. L. Gour- 
din, P. G. Gourdin, Goodwyn, Gailliard, Griffin, Glenn, Gregg, 
J. Hamilton, Sen., Heyward, Hayne, Harper, Harrison, Hatton, 
Harllee, Huguenin, I'On, Jeter, Johnston, James, Jacobs, Keith, 
Key, King, Lacoste, Legare, Lawton, Long, Lipscomb, Logan, 
Littlejohn, Lancaster, Magrath, Markley, Maner, Murray, Mills, 
McCall, Means, Mays, McDuffie, Moore, J. L. Miller, S. D. Mil- 
ler, J. B. Miller, McCord, Nowell, O'Bannon, J. W. Phillips, 
Parker, Porcher, Palmer, C. C. Pinckney, W. C. Pinckney, T. 
Pinckney, Quash, Rivers, Rowe, Rogers, Ray, J. G. Spann, J. 
Spann, Simons, Shand, J. M. Smith, W. Smith, S. Smith, G. H. 
Smith, Stringfellow, Scott, Symmes, Sims, Singleton, Stevens, 
Screven, Turnbull, Tyler, Tidyman, Ulmer, Vaught, Vander- 
horst, Wilson, Walker, Williams, Woodward, Williamson, Ward- 
law, Whatley, Whitefield, Watt, Ware, Waties, Warren, and 
Young. 

His Excellency James Hamilton, Jr., President of the Con- 
vention, claimed his privilege of voting as a Delegate from St. 
Peter's, and gave it in the affirmative, making, in all, one hun- 
dred and thirty-six — Ayes. 

Noes — Brockman, Burgess, Crooke, Cureton, Chestnut, Can- 
non, Clinton, J. R. Ervin, R. Ervin, J. P. Evans, Gibson, Alfred 
Huger, D. E. Huger, Levy, Lowry, Manning, Middleton, 
O'Neale, P. Phillips, Perry, John P. Richardson, J. S. Richard- 



315 

son, Rowland, Shannon, Whitten, and Wilkins. — Making, in all, 
twenty-six — Noes. 

One member absent from sickness — five not yet enrolled. 

The Ordinance was consequently adopted, by a majority of 
the members present of 109, and a majority of 103 of the whole 
number of Delegates elected by the people. 

On motion of Mr. M'Duffie, the Report accompanying the 
Ordinance was taken up for consideration, and the reading be- 
ing dispensed with, was adopted by the Convention. 

Mr. M'Duffie then moved the consideration of the Address to 
the People of this State, reported by the Select Committee of 
twenty-one, which being agreed to, and the reading being dis- 
pensed with, the Address was adopted by the Convention. 

On motion of Chancellor Johnston, a reconsideration of the 
Address was granted. 

Mr. TarnbuU then moved to amend the Address, by striking 
out in the 19th paragraph, the words " with a full confidence 
that other divisions of the Confederacy will nobly follow and 
sustain us." He explained, that the State wished to be under- 
stood, notwithstanding her hopes that she would be sustained by 
other members of the Confederacy, as relying not on them, but 
on herself alone. The amendment was agreed to without oppo- 
sition, and the Address so amended, adopted by the Convention. 

Col. W. C. Pinckney, of Si. Bartholomew's, introduced the 
following Resolution, which was concurred in by the Conven- 
tion, to wit : 

" Resolved, That twenty thousand copies of the Report, the 
Addresses, and the Ordinance, (as adopted) be printed ; and 
that for each of the members of the Convention, thirty copies in 
separate sheets, shall be immediately printed — that ten thousand 
copies, with the Ordinance annexed to the Report, in pamphlet 
form, be separately printed for distribution ; and that the re- 
maining five thousand be bound up with the proceedings of the 
Convention, the whole of which shall be published under the 
direction of a Committee to be appointed by the President, for 
that purpose ; — that the documents thus ordered to be printed, 
be distributed under the direction of the President. And it 
shall be the duty of the Clerk, under the direction of the Com- 
mittee, to assist in superintending the printing, and to make 



316 

such distribution as the President shall direct.— That he carry 
on the necessary correspondence, and cause a record of all the 
proceedings of the Convention to be made, and deposited in the 
Secretary of State's Office, in Columbia; and to perform such 
other duties in reference to the business of the Convention, as 
may be prescribed by the President ; and that during his con- 
tinuance in office, he shall receive the same compensation as 
the Clerk of the House of Representatives." 

Judge Harper, of Fairfield, and Cols. Brown and Clifton, of 
Richland, were appointed a Committee under this Resolution. 

On motion of the Hon. John Lynde Wilson, a Committee was 
appointed to engross the Ordinance as adopted, and to superin- 
tend its signature, by such members as might wish to affix their 
names to it. 

Messrs. Wilson and C. C. Pinckney, were appointed the Com- 
mittee. 

Col. Wilson then moved a recess until 5 o'clock, P. M., that 
the Engrossing Committee might have time to perform that ser- 
vice. The motion was carried, and the Convention adjourned 
accordingly. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



Saturday, November 24—5 o'clock, P. M. 

The Convention met according to adjournment. The Jour- 
nal of the morning's proceedings having been read, Mr. Wilson, 
on the part of the Engrossing Committee, made the following 
Report to wit : 

" The Engrossing Committee, to whom was confided the care 
of the Ordinance of this Convention, for engrossing and enrol- 
ment, have performed that duty, and caused the great Seal of 
the State" to be attached thereto. 

"Your Committee have so engrossed the Ordinance, as to 



317 

admit the signatures of all the members of the Convention, a 
ratification observed by those who proclaimed our Independ- 
ence. Your Committee suggest the propriety of submitting to 
the Patriots of '76, yet abiding with us, and laboring in one 
common cause, for the continuance of our liberties, the first 
lines for their signatures." 

JOHN L. WILSON, Chairman. 

This Report was was unanimously adopted. 

The Report of the Select Committee accompanying the Ordi- 
nance, as adopted by the Convention, and the Ordinance, as 
finally ratified, are as follows, to wit : 

[For the Report and Ordinance, see pages 1 and 28.] 

Of the signatures to the Ordinance, the seven first, are ac- 
cording to the Resolution, the signatures of those Delegates who 
bore arms in the war of the Revolution. The signatures of the 
other Delegates approving, were taken alphabetically, with the 
exception of R. Barnwell Smith, Esq., who, though prevented 
by sickness from taking his seat in the Convention, was, by a 
Resolution of the Convention, permitted to sign the Ordinance, 
and record his approval of the proceedings. 

The Address to the People of the State, read by Robert J. 
TurnbuU, Esq., as adopted by the Convention, is as follows, to 
wit: 

[For the Address, see p. 37.] 

The Address to the People of the United States, as read by 
the Hon. George McDuffie, and adopted by the Convention, is 
as follows, to wit : 

[For the Address, see page 59.] 

The Report and Ordinance, with the two Addresses, as given 
above, having been adopted by the Convention, the Convention 
then, on motion of Dr. Tidyman, went into a Committee of the 
whole. Col. rOn being called to the Chair. Dr. Tidyman offer- 
ed the following Resolution : 



318 

''Resolved, That the thanks of the members of this Conven- 
tion be given to the President, for the very able, dignified and 
impartial manner with which he has presided over their delib- 
erations, and for the zeal and fidelity with which he has dis- 
discharged the duties of his office." 

The Resolution having been unanimously adopted, the Com- 
mittee rose, and reported it to the Convention, as so adopted. 

Gen. Hayne then offered the following Resolution, which was 
adopted by the Convention, to wit : 

" Resolved, That copies of the Ordinance just adopted by this 
Convention, with the Report thereon, and the Addresses to the 
People of the several States, and of this State, be transmitted, 
by the Governor, to the President of the United Slates, to be, 
by him, submitted to Congress ; and also to the Governors of 
the several States, for the information of their respective Legis- 
latures." 

Judge Harper offered the following Resolution, to wit: 
''Resolved, That when this Convention adjourns, it shall ad- 
journ to meet at this place, at such time as the President shall 
appoint, who is authorized, if in his opinion the public exigen- 
cies shall require, by notice under his hand, duly published, to 
assemble the Convention at any time before the 12th of Novem- 
ber next; and that he appoint a Committee, a majority of 
Vi^hom, or the survivors or survivor of such majority, in case of 
the death or disqualification of the President, shall have like 
authority to assemble the Convention, and appoint a time for its 
meeting." 

This Resolution was adopted, and the Hon. William Harper, 
of Fairfield, the Hon. Robert Y. Hayne, of Charleston, and 
Messrs. Benjamin Rodgers, of Marlborough, Thomas Harrison, 
of Pendleton, and John S. Maner, of Sainl Peter's, were appoint- 
ed the Committee. 

On motion of Chancellor Johnston, the following Resolution * 
was adopted, to wit : 

" Resolved, That the President be authorized to draw his war- 
rant or warrants on the Treasury, for the contingent expenses of 
this Convention." 



319 

Mr. Turnbull moved the following, which was likewise adopt- 
ed, to wit : 

''Resohed, That the President of this Convention be request- 
ed to transmit to the Legislature, a copy of the Ordinance 
just passed by this Convention, together with copies also of 
the Report of the Committee of twenty-one, and of the Ad- 
dresses to the People of this State, and the People of the United 
States." 

Chancellor Johnston offered the following Resolution, which 
was concurred in by the Convention, to wit : 

" Resolved, That any Delegate shall be at liberty hereafter to 
sign the Ordinance adopted by the Convention, and record his 
approbation of the proceedings thereof." 

The Hon. Robert W. Barnwell then moved the following, to 
wit : 

Whereas, It is the duty of a people at all times to acknowl- 
edge their dependence upon God, and more especially to com- 
mit themselves to his keeping, when they have adopted measures 
of deep import to their future welfare and security." 

"Be it resolved, That we, the Delegates of South Carolina, 
assembled in Convention, do recommend to our fellow citizens 
of the State, to observe Thursday, the 31st day of January, 1833, 
as a day of solemn fasting, humiliation and prayer, imploring 
the Almighty to bestow his blessing upon the proceedings of 
this body, that they may eventuate in the promotion of his glory, 
and in restoring and perpetuating the liberty and prosperty of 
our native State." 

This Resolution was unanimously adopted, and ordered to be 
so entered on the Journal of the Convention. 

The President then rose and asked, " Has any member any 
further proposal to bring before this Convention ?" 

None being offered, the President held up the Ordinance, and 
I said, " I do announce that this Ordinance has been adopted and 
ratified by the good people of the State of South Carolina, as- 
sembled in their highest sovereign capacity." 

The President then addressed the Convention, in a short 



320 

speech. In concluding it, he requested the Rev. Mr. Ware to 
ask the Divine blessing upon the proceedings of the Assembly. 

After prayer by that reverend gentleman, Col. I'On moved an 
adjournment. 

The motion was carried. Whereupon the President pro- 
nounced the Convention adjourned, until it should be again as- 
sembled according to the provisions of Judge Harper's Resolu- 
tion. 

ISAAC WILLIAM HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



SECOND SESSION. 



Monday, March 11, 1833. 

Pursuant to a Proclamation of the President of the Conven- 
tion, issued on the 13th day of February, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirty-three, the Convention of the people of South 
Carolina re-assembled in the Hall of the House of Representa- 
tives, in the Town of Columbia, on this day, at meridian. 

The proceedings were opened by a prayer from the Rev. Mr. 
Ware ; after which the roll was called, and the following mem- 
bers answered to their names, viz : — James Adams, Ayer, J. An- 
derson, Robert Anderson, Arnold, Baker, Ball, Bee, Boone, 
Blewett, Butler, J. G. Brown, Richland, J. G. Brown, Barnwell, 
Bauskett, F. Burt, Black, Belin, Cohen, Cordes, Thos. H. Col- 
cock, C. J. Colcock, Capers, Clifton, Caughman, Counts, 
Crooke, Chambers, Campbell, Cureton, Chesnut, Clinton, Du- 
bose, Dawson, John Douglas, George Douglas, Elmore, Earle, 
J. R. Ervin, William Evans, J. P. Evans, Felder, T. L. Gourdin, 
P. G. Gourdin, Goodwyn, Gailliard, Griffin, Glenn, Gibson, 
Gregg, Hayne, Heyward, Harper, Harrison, Hatton, Harllee, 
Huguenin, I'On, Jeter, Johnston, James, Keith, Key, King, 
j Levy, Lowry, Lacoste, Legare, Lawton, Long, Logan, Little- 
john, Lancaster, Magrath, Maner, Murray, Mills, McCall, Means, 
Mays, McDuffie, Moore, J. L. Miller, S. D. Miller, John B. Mil- 
ler, McCord, Vowell, O'Neale, O'Bannon, P. Phillips, J. W. 
Phillips, Porcher, Palmer, Perry, C. C. Pinckney, William C. 
Pinckney, Thomas Pinckney, Quash, Rowland, Rivers, Rowe, 
Rogers, Ray, J. G. Spann, James Spann, Simons, Shand, J. M. 
Smith, G. H. Smith, Wm. Smith, Stephen Smith, Stringfellow, 
42 



322 

Scott, Symmes, Sims, Shannon, Singleton, Stevens, Turnbull, 
Tyler, Tidyman, Ulmer, Wilson, Walker, Williams, Woodward, 
Whitten, Watt, Waties, Wilkins, Ware, Warren, Williamson, 
Wardlaw, Whatley, Young. 

The President then addressed the Convention, explaining to 
them the objects for which they had been convoked. In con- 
cluding, he announced, that as he had been chosen to preside 
over this body, as Governor of the State, and as another now 
filled that station, he would, after submitting to the Convention 
the documents which had induced him to call them together at 
this time, resign his office into their hands. The following doc- 
uments were then read by the Clerk, to wit : 

Letter from the Governor of the State, to the President of the 
Convention. 

ExECOTivE Department, ) 

Columbia, March 11, 1833. ) 

To James Hamilton, Jun. Esq,., 

President of the Convention of the People of South Carolina. 

Sir, — I herewith transmit you a letter which I have received 
from the Hon. Benjamin Watkins Leigh, Commissioner from the 
State of Virginia, which, together with the correspondence in 
relation to Mr. Leigh's Mission, and the Resolutions of Virginia, 
of which he is the bearer, you are requested to lay before the 
Assembly over which you preside. 

I am very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

ROBERT Y. HAYNE. 



323 



Columbia, March 11th, 1S33. 
Sir,— 

Having, at our first interview, presented you the Resolutions 
of the General Assennbly of Virginia, of the 26th January last, 
on the subject of Federal Relations, I have now to request your 
Excellency to lay these Resolutions before the Convention of 
the People of South Carolina, which, at my instance, has been 
re-assembled for the purpose of considering them. 

The General Assembly of Virginia has expressed, in its own 
language, its sentiments concerning the unhappy controversy 
between the State of South Carolina and the Federal Govern- 
ment, and its motives, its views and object, in making this inter- 
cession. In these respects, therefore, the Commissioner it has 
thought proper to depute to South Carolina, can have nothing to 
add, and nothing even to explain. The duly presented to him 
is simple and precise. He is instructed to communicate the 
Preamble and Resolutions to the proper authorities of this 
State, and " to give them such direction as in his judgment may 
be best calculated to promote the objects which the Legislature 
of Virginia has in view;" and this part of his duty he has al- 
ready, by the prompt and cordial compliance of those authori- 
ties, had the happiness to accomplish, to the entire satisfaction 
(as he has reason to believe) of the Legislature of Virginia. 
And he is further instructed and " authorized to express to the 
public authorities and people of this, our sister State, the sincere 
good will of the Legislature, and people of Virginia, towards 
their sister State, and their anxious solicitude that the kind and 
respectful representations they have addressed to her, may lead 
to an accommodation of the differences between this State and 
the General Government." 

Virginia is animated with an ardent and devoted attachment 
to the Union of the States, and to the rights of the several States 
that compose the Union ; and if similarity of situation and of 
interests naturally induce her to sympathize, with peculiar sen- 
sibility, in whatever affects the prosperity and happiness of 
South Carolina, and the other Southern States, she knows how 



324 

to reconcile this sentiment with her affection and duty towards 
each and every other State, severally, and towards the United 
States. She is most solicitous to maintain and preserve our 
present institutions, which, though they partake of imperfection, 
from which no human institutions can ever be exempt, and not- 
withstanding some instances of mal-administration or error, to 
which all governments are liable, are yet, as she confidently be- 
lieves, the happiest frame of polity that is now or ever has been 
enjoyed by any people ; — to maintain and preserve the whole? 
and every part of these institutions, in full vigor and purity ; to 
uphold the Union, and the States ; to maintain the Federal 
Government in all its just powers, administered, according to 
the pure principles of the Constitution, without the least depart- 
ure from the limitations prescribed by the compact, fairly un- 
derstood, and the State Governments, in all their rights and au- 
thority, as absolutely necessary to the good government and hap- 
piness of their respective citizens. Consolidation and disunion 
are alike abhorrent from her affections and her judgment — the 
one involving, at the least, a forfeiture of the manifold advan- 
tages and blessings so long and so generally felt and acknowl- 
edged to have been derived from the Union ; and the other hav- 
ing an apparent, perhaps inevitable, tendency to military des- 
potism. And she is apprehensive, for reasons too obvious to 
need particular mention, that ir case any differences between 
the Federal Government and the States, shall ever be brought 
to the arbitrament of force, the result, let it be what it may, 
must effect such a change in our existing institutions as cannot 
but be evil, since it would be a change from those forms of gov- 
ernment, which we have experienced to be good, and under 
which we have certainly been, in the main, free, prosperous, 
contented and happy. Therefore, in the present controversy, 
between the Federal Government and the State of South Caro- 
lina, she deprecates any resort to force by either, and is san- 
guine in the hope, that, with proper moderation and forbearance 
on both sides, this controversy may be adjusted (as all our con- 
troversies hitherto have been) by the influence of truth, reason 
and justice. 

Virginia, remembering the history of South Carolina, her ser- 
vices in war and in peace, and her contributions of virtue and 



325 

intelligence to the common councils of the Union ; and knowing 
well the generosity, the magnanimity, and the loyalty of her 
character, entertained the most perfect confidence, that these 
sentiments, so cherished by herself, would find a response in the 
heart and understanding of every citizen of this State. And 
that confidence induced her intercession on the present occa- 
sion. She has not presumed to dictate, or even to advise. She 
has addressed her entreaty to the Congress of the United States, 
to redress the grievance of which South Carolina complains. 
And she has spoken to South Carolina also, as one sovereign 
State, as one State of this Union, ought to speak to another. 
She has earnestly, affectionately, and respectfully requested and 
entreated South Carolina, " to rescind or suspend her late Ordi- 
nance, and to await the result of a combined and strenuous ef- 
fort of the friends of Union and Peace, to effect an adjustment 
and conciliation of all public differences now unhappily exist- 
ing." She well hoped, that this State "would listen willingly 
and respectfully to her voice ;" for she knew and felt that South 
Carolina could not descend from the dignity, and would nowise 
compromit the rights of her sovereignty, by yielding to the in- 
tercession of a sister State. 

If, therefore, no other considerations could have been pre- 
sented to the Convention of the people of South Carolina — if 
no other motives for compliance could have been suggested, 
than the intercession of Virginia, offered in the temper and 
manner it has been, and the interests we all have in the Union, 
the common attachment we feel for our tried republican institu- 
tions, the aversion from civil discord and commotion, and the 
wise and just dread of changes of which no sagacity can foresee 
the consequences, — it might have been hoped and expected, 
that the Convention would rescind, or at least suspend for a 
time, its late Ordinance. 

But, in truth, the Convention comes now to a consideration 
of this subject, under a state of circumstances, not anticipated 
by Virginia when she interposed her good offices to promote a 
peaceable adjustment of the controversy between this State and 
the Federal Government. There has been made that " com- 
bined and strenuous effort of the friends of peace and union, to 
effect an adjustment and conciliation" of this controversy — the 



326 

result of which South Carolina was requested and expected to 
await — and that effort, it is hoped, will prove successful. The 
recent Act of Congress, "to modify the Act of the 14th July, 
1832, and all other Acts imposing duties on imports," is such a 
modification of the Tariff Laws as (I trust) will leave little 
room for hesitation on the part of the Convention of the People 
of South Carolina, as to the wisdom and propriety of rescinding 
its Ordinance. 

Forbearing, therefore, to enter at large into the many and 
forcible considerations of justice and policy, which, independ- 
ently of this measure of Congress, might, I humbly conceive, 
have sufficed to induce the Convention to suspend, if not to re- 
scind the Ordinance, I shall rest in the hope, that the wisdom of 
the Convention will adopt, at once, the course which the dignity 
and patriotism of South Carolina, her attachment to the Union, 
so constantly expressed, and manifested by her deeds, her duty 
to herself and towards her sister States, and (I hope I may add, 
without presumption,) her respect for the intercession of Vir- 
ginia, shall dictate to be proper ; and that that course will lead 
to a renewal of perfect harmony. 

Sensible as I am, how little any effort of mine has or could 
have contributed to the result I now anticipate, I shall be well 
content with the honor of having been the bearer of the Resolu- 
tions of Virginia, and of a favorable answer to them — happy in 
being the humblest instrument of such a work. 

I have the honor to be, 

With profound respect. 

Your most obedient servant, 

B. W. LEIGH. 

To His Excellency Robert Y. Hayne, 
Governor of South Carolina. 



327 



[II.] 

Letter from the Governor of Virginia, to the Governor of South 
Carolina. 

VIRGINIA. 

Executive Department, 
January 26, 1833. 

To His Excellency Robert Y. Hayne : 

Sir, — This will be delivered to you by the Hon. Benjamin 
Watkins Leigh, a distinguished citizen of Virginia, who has 
been elected by the General Assembly, a Commissioner of this 
State, to the State of South Carolina, in conformity to a Pre- 
amble and Resolutions on the subject of Federal Relations, this 
day adopted by the General Assembly of Virginia. Mr. Leigh 
will make known to you any further views, that may be enter- 
tained, on the subject of the Preamble and Resolutions. 

I have the honor to be. 

With high consideration and respect. 

Your Excellency's most obedient servant, 

JOHN FLOYD. 



[ HI- ] 

Certified Copy of the Preamble and Resolutions adopted by the Vir- 
ginia Legislature, and transmitted, through their Commissioner, to 
the constituted Authorities of this State. 

Virginia, to wit: 

I, John Floyd, Governor of the State aforesaid, do hereby 
certify and make known unto all whom it may concern, that 
George W. Munford, whose name is subscribed to the certificate 
to two documents hereunto annexed, marked A and B, is as he 



328 

there styles himself, Clerk of the House of Delegates, and 
Keeper of the Rolls of Virginia, duly appointed and qualified 
according to law ; and to all his official acts as such, full faith, 
credit and authority are had and ought to be given. 

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name, and caused 
the great seal of the State to be affixed hereunto. 

Done at the City of Richmond, the twenty-sixth 
[ L. S. ] day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand 
eight hundred and thirty-three, and of the Common- 
wealth the fifty-seventh. 

JOHN FLOYD. 
[By the Governor.] 

Wm. H. Richardsox, Secretary 

of the Commonwealth, and Keeper of the Seal. 



Whereas, The General Assembly of Virginia, actuated by a 
desire to preserve the peace and harmony of our common coun- 
try, — relying upon th6 sense of justice of each and every State 
in the Union, as a sufficient pledge that their Representatives in 
Congress will so modify the Acts laying duties and imposts on 
the importation of foreign commodities, commonly called the 
Tariff Acts, that they will no longer furnish cause of complaint 
to the people of any particular State 5 believing, accordingly, 
that the People of South Carolina are mistaken, in supposing 
that Congress will yield them no relief from the pressure of those 
Acts, especially as the auspicious approach of the extinguish- 
ment of the Public Debt, affords a just ground for the indulgence 
of a contrary expectation ; and confident that they are too 
strongly attached to the Union of the Stales, to resort to any 
proceedings which might dissolve or endanger it, whilst they 
have any fair hope of obtaining their object, by more regular 
and peaceful measures ; persuaded, also, that they will listen 
willingly and respectfully to the voice of Virginia, earnestly and 
affectionately requesting and entreating them to rescind or sus- 



329 

pend their late Ordinance, and await the result of a combined 
and strenuous effort of the friends of Union and Peace, to effect 
an adjustment and reconciliation of all public differences now 
unhappily existing ; regarding, moreover, an appeal to force, on 
the part of the General Government, or on the part of the Gov- 
ernment of South Carolina, as a measure which nothing but ex- 
treme necessity could justify or excuse in either; but appre- 
hensive, at the same time, that if the present state of things is 
allowed to continue, acts of violence will occur, which may lead 
to consequences that all would deplore — cannot but deem it a 
solemn duty to interpose, and mediate between the high con- 
tending parties, by the declaration of their opinions and wishes, 
which they trust that they both will consider and respect : 
Therefore, 

Resolved, by the General Assembly, in the name and on behalf of 
the people of Firginia, That the competent Authorities of South 
Carolina be, and they are, hereby, earnestly and respectfully 
requested and entreated to rescind the Ordinance of the late 
Convention of that State, entitled •' An Ordinance to Nullify 
certain Acts of the Congress of the United Stales, purporting to 
be laws, laying duties and imposts on the importation of foreign 
commodities;" or, at least to suspend its operation until the 
close of the first session of the next Congress. 

Resolved, That the Congress of the United States be, and 
they are, hereby, earnestly and respectfully requested and en- 
treated, so to modify the Acts laying duties and imposts on the 
importation of foreign commodities, commonly called the Tariff 
Acts, as to effect a gradual but speedy reduction of the result- 
ing Revenue of the General Government, to the standard of the 
necessary and proper expenditures for the support thereof. 

Resolved, That the people of Virginia expect, and, in the 
opinion of the General Assembly, the people of the other States 
have a right to expect, that the General Government and the 
Government of South Carolina, and all persons acting under the 
authority of either, will carefully abstain from any and all acts, 
whatever, which may be calculated to disturb the tranquillity of 
the country, or endanger the existence of the Union. 
43 



330 

And, whereas, considering the opinions which have been ad- 
vanced and maintained by the Convention of South Carolina, in 
its late Ordinance and Addresses, on the one hand, and by the 
President of the United States, in his Proclamation, bearing 
date the tenth day of December, one thousand eight hundred 
and thirty-two, on the other, the General Assembly deem it due 
to themselves, and the people whom they represent, to declare 
and make known their own views in relation to some of the im- 
portant and interesting questions which these papers present : 
Therefore, 

Resolved, by the General Assembly, That they continue to re- 
gard the doctrines of State Sovereignty and State Rights, as set 
forth in the Resolutions of 1798, and sustained by the Report 
thereon, of 1799, as a true interpretation of the Constitution of 
the United States, and of the powers therein given to the Gen- 
eral Government ; but that they do not consider them as sanc- 
tioning the proceedings of South Carolina, indicated in her said 
Ordinance ; nor as countenancing all the principles assumed by 
the President in his said Proclamation, many of which are in 
direct conflict with them. 

Resolved, That this Ho-jse will, by joint vote with the Senate, 
proceed, on this day, to elect a Commissioner, whose duty it 
shall be to proceed immediately to South Carolina, and commu- 
nicate the foregoing Preamble and Resolutions to the Governor 
of that State, with a request that they be communicated to the 
Legislature of that State, or any Convention of its citizens, or 
give them such other direction as, in his judgment, may be best 
calculated to promote the objects which this Commonwealth has 
in view ; and that the said Commissioner be authorized to ex- 
press to the public authorities and people of our sister State, in 
such manner as he may deem most expedient, our sincere good 
will to our sister State, and our anxious solicitude that the kind 
and respectful recommendations we have addressed to her may 
lead to an accommodation of all the differences between that 
State and the General Government. 

Resolved, That the Governor of the Commonwealth be, and he 
is, hereby, requested to communicate the foregoing Preamble 
and Resolutions to the President of the United States, to the 



331 

Governors of the other States, and to our Senators and Repre- 
sentatives in Congress. 

Agreed to by the House, the twenty-sixth day of January, one 
thousand eight hundred and thirty-three. 

GEORGE W. MUNFORD, 

Clerk of the House of Delegates, and 

Keeper of the Rolls of Virginia. 



In the House of Delegates, Jan. 26, 1833. 

The House of Delegates have, this day, by joint vote with the 
Senate, elected Benjamin Watkins LeigH, Esq., a Commissioner 
of this State to the Slate of South Carolina, in conformity to a 
Preamble and Resolutions upon the subject of Federal Rela- 
tions, also adopted to-day. 

GEGRGE W. MUNFORD, 

Clerk of the House of Delegates, and 

Keeper of the Rolls of Virginia. 



[IV.] 



Correspondence between the Commissioner of Virginia, and the Con- 
stituted Authorities of this State. 

Letter No. 1. 

Charleston, February 5, 1833. 

Sir,— 

When I had the honor, yesterday, of laying before your Ex- 
cellency, the Resolutions of the General Assembly of Virginia, 



332 

of the 26th January last, and called your attention particularly 
to the Resolution of the General Assembly, in the name and on 
behalf of the people of Virginia, that the competent authorities 
of South Carolina be, and are hereby earnestly and respectfully 
requested and entreated to rescind the Ordinance of the State 
Convention of that State, entitled " An Ordinance to Nullify 
certain Acts of the Congress of the United States, purporting to 
be laws, laying duties and imposts on the importation of foreign 
commodities ;" or, at least, to suspend its operation until the 
close of the first session of the next Congress, you informed me, 
that the only authority competent to comply with that request, 
or even to consider it, is the Convention of the people of South 
Carolina, which made the Ordinance, and the power of re-as- 
sembling the Convention is vested in the President of that body. 
I have now, therefore, to request your Excellency to commu- 
nicate the Resolutions of the General Assembly of Virginia, and 
this letter also, to the President of the Convention : confidently 
hoping that that officer will not refuse or hesitate to re-assemble 
the Convention, in order that the Resolutions of the General 
Assembly may be submitted to it, and that the Convention may 
consider, whether, and how far the earnest and respectful re- 
quest and entreaty of the General Assembly shall and ought to 
be complied with. 

I have the honor to be, &c. &c., 

B. W. LEIGH. 

To His Excellency Robert Y. Hayne, ) 
Governor of South Carolina, 5 



Letter No. 2. 

Executive Department, ) 

Charleston, Feb. 6, 1833. \ 

Sir, — 

I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 5th instant, 
and in compliance with the request therein contained, commu- 



i 



333 

nicated its contents, together with the Resolutions of the Legis- 
lature of Virginia, of which you are the bearer, to Gen. James 
Hamilton, Jun., the President of the Convention. I have now 
the pleasure of inclosing you his answer, by which you will per- 
ceive, that in compliance with the request conveyed through 
you, he will promptly re-assemble the Convention, to whom the 
Resolutions adopted by the Legislature of Virginia, will be sub- 
mitted, and by whom they will doubtless receive the most 
friendly and respectful consideration. In giving you this infor- 
mation, it is due to the interest manifested by Virginia, in the 
existing controversy between South Carolina and the Federal 
Government, to state that as soon as it came to be understood 
that the Legislature of Virginia had taken up the subject in a 
spirit of friendly interposition, and that a bill for the modifica- 
tion of the Tariff was actually before Congress, it was determin- 
ed, by the common consent of our fellow-citizens, that no case 
should be made under our Ordinance until after the adjourn- 
ment of the present Congress. The propriety of a still further 
suspension, can, of course, only be determined by the Conven- 
tion itself With regard to the solicitude expressed by the Leg- 
islature of Virginia, that there should be " no appeal to force," 
on " the part of either the General Government, or the Govern- 
ment of South Carolina, in the controversy now unhappily ex- 
isting between them," and that " the General Government and 
the Government of South Carolina, and all persons acting under 
the authority of either, should carefully abstain from any and all 
acts, whatever, which may be calculated to disturb the tranquil- 
lity of the country, or endanger the existence of the Union ;" it 
is proper that I should distinctly and emphatically state, that no 
design now exists, or ever has existed, on the part of the Gov- 
ernment of South Carolina, or any portion of the people, to 
" appeal to force," unless that measure should be rendered in- 
dispensable in repelling unlawful violence. 

1 beg leave to assure you, and through you, the people of 
Virginia, and our t)ther sister States, that no acts have been 
done, or are contemplated by South Carolina, her constituted 
authorities, or citizens, in reference to the present crisis, but 
such as are deemed measures of precaution. Her preparations 
are altogether defensive in their character ; and notvvithstand- 



334 



ing the concentration of large naval and military forces in this 
harbor, and the adoption of other measures on the part of the 
General Government, which may be considered as of a charac- 
ter threatening the peace and endangering the tranquillity and 
safety of the State, we shall continue to exercise the utmost 
possible forbearance, acting strictly on the defensive, firmly re- 
solved to commit no act of violence, but prepared, as far as our 
means may extend, to resist aggression. Nothing, you may be 
assured, would give me, personally, and the people of South 
Carolina, more satisfaction than that the existing controversy 
should be happily adjusted, on just and liberal terms ; and I 
beg you to be assured, that nothing can be further from our de- 
sire, than to disturb the tranquillity of the country, or endanger 
the existence of the Union. 

Accept, Sir, for yourself, 

The assurance of the high consideration 
Of yours, respectfully and truly, 

ROBERT Y. HAYNE. 
To the Hon. B. W. Leigh. 



Letter No. 3. 

Charleston, February 6, 1833. 



Sir, — 



I do myself the honor of acknowledging the receipt of your 
letter of the 5th, enclosing a copy of a communication you have 
received from Benjamin Watkins Leigh, Esq., Commissioner 
from the State of Virginia, covering certain Resolutions passed 
by the Legislature of that State, which that gentlemen has been 
deputed to convey to the Executive of this State. 

In reply to the reference which you have made to me, as Pres- 
ident of the Convention of the People of South Carolina, conse- 



335 

qiient on the application on the part of that gentleman, for 
the meeting of that body, I beg leave to communicate to him, 
through your Excellency, that, appreciating very highly, the 
kind disposition, and the patriotic solicitude, which have induced 
the highly respectable Commonwealth which he represents, to 
interpose her friendly and mediatorial offices in the unhappy 
controversy subsisting between the Federal Government and the 
State of South Carolina, I should do great injustice to those dis- 
positions on her part, and, I am quite sure, to the feelings of 
the people of South Carolina, if I did not promptly comply with 
his wishes in reference to the proposed call. 

You are, therefore, authorized to say to Mr. Leigh, that the 
Convention will be assembled with as much despatch as may be 
compatible with the public convenience, and with a due regard 
to those circumstances which best promise a full consideration 
and final decision, on the proposition of which he is the bearer. 

1 have the honor to remain, 

With distinguished consideration and esteem, 
Your Excellency's obedient servant, 

JAMES HAMILTON, JR., 

President of the Convention of the People of South Carolina. 

To His Excellency Robert Y. Hayne. 

Messrs. Geo. Sistrunk, from St. George's, R. Barnwell Smith, 
from St. Bartholomew's, Robert W. Gill, from Lancaster, Ben- 
jamin Gause, from Kingston, and James C. Coggeshall, from 
Prince George, Winyaw, now appeared for the first time, exhib- 
ited their credentials, enrolled their names, and took their seats 
as members of the Convention. 

The Convention then proceeded to the election of a Presi- 
dent. Messrs. Butler, Burt, and Quash, were appointed a Com- 
mitttee to count the votes, and make known the result. The 
Committee reported His Excellency Robert Y. Hayne, Governor 
and Commander in Chief in and over the State, duly elected 
President of the Convention. 



336 

Chancellor Johnston and Col. Thomas Plnckney, were ap- 
pointed a Committee to wait on the President elect, inform him 
of his election, and conduct him to the chair ; which, having 
been done, Governor Hayne, after a short address, entered upon 
the duties of his station. 

On motion of General Hamiltoi), the following Resolutions 
were adopted unanimously, to wit: 

Resolved, That a Committee of three be appointed to wait on 
Benjamin Watkins Leigh, Esq., Commissioner of the Common- 
wealth of Virginia, and invite him to a seat within the bur of 
this Convention." 

"Resolved, That this Convention will receive Mr. Leigh, 
standing and uncovered." 

The Committee consisted of Gen. Earle, Col. I'On, and Mr. 
Heyward. 

On motion of the Hon. C. J. Colcock, it was 

" Resolved, That a Committee of twenty-one be appointed to 
take into consideration the communication of the Hon. Benja- 
min W. Leigh, Commissioner from the State of Virginia, and all 
other matters connected with the subject, and the course which 
should be pursued by the Convention, at the present important 
crisis of our political affairs." 

The following gentlemen were named by the President, to 
constitute the Committee, viz : 

Hon. C. J. Colcock, 

Gen. J. B. Earle, R. J. Turnbull, Esq., 

Hon. William Harper, B. Rogers, Esq., 

Hon. J. B. O'Neal, Hon. R. W. Barnwell, 

Col. Wm. C. Pinckney, Col. J. R. Ervin, 

Hon. S. D. Miller, Col. J. Bond POn, 

Chancellor Job Johnston, T. D. Singleton, Esq., 

Hon. G. McDuffie, Col. P. M. Butler, 

Hon. R. J. Manning, Jas. A. Black, Esq., 

Hon. J. K. Griffin, Col. John Bauskett, 

On motion of Judge Harper, it was ordered, that the corres- 
pondence between Mr. Leigh and Governor Hayne, should be 
printed for the use of the Convention; likewise the Acts of the 



337 

late Congress, connected with the controversy between this 
State and the Federal Government. 

On motion of Col. I'On, the members of Congress, and of the 
State Legislature, who might be present, were invited to a seat 
within the bar of the Convention. 

On motion of Gen. Hamilton, the Convention now adjourned 
until to-morrow at one o'clock, P. M. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



Tuesday, March 12, 1833. 

The Convention met according to adjournment, atone o'clock, 
P. M., and the proceedings were opened by a prayer from the 
Rev. Mr. Ray. 

The roll having been called, the President suggested that as 
this formality was an unnecessary consumption of the time of 
the Convention, and as there was no rule requiring its observ- 
ance, it would, if no objections were made, be dispensed with 
for the future. 

Messrs. John Lipscomb, of Abbeville, and J. T. Whitefield, 
of Pendleton, appeared and took their seats. 

The President then announced the names of Gen. James 
Hamilton, Jun., and Samuel B. Wilkins, Esq. as completing the 
Select Committee of twenty-one ; these names being substituted 
for those of his Excellency R. Y. Hayne, now President of the 
Convention, and of the Hon. Henry Middleton, absent, who, 
with the gentlemen named yesterday, constituted the select Com- 
mittee of the Convention, at its late session. 

Judge Colcock, on the part of the Committee, stated that 
they were unable to report to-day, and obtained leave to sit 
again. 

On motion of Gen. Hamilton, the following Resolution was 
adopted, to wit : 
44 



338 

"Resolved, That a Committee of Accounts, to consist of three 
members, be raised, for the purpose of examining and reporting 
on the Accounts of this Convention, and what balance may 
stand to its credit in the Treasury, and what further sum may be 
necessary for defraying the expenses of its present session." 

Messrs. Simons, Bauskett, and Chesnut, were appointed the 
Committee. 

Mr. TurnbuU moved that, until otherwise ordered, the Con- 
vention should adjourn from day to day to meet at twelve 
o'clock, meridian, which being agreed to, he moved that the 
Convention do now adjourn ; which being likewise concurred 
in, the Convention adjourned accordingly. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



Wednesday, March 13, 1S33. 

The Convention met pursuant to adjournment, at meridian to- 
day. The proceedings were opened by a prayer from the Rev. 
Mr. Wafford, and the Journal of yesterday read. 

Messrs. A. Bowie and A. Burt, of Abbeville, M. Jacobs, of St. 
Helena, and Peter Vaught, of All Saints, appeared and took 
their seats. 

The Hon. C. J. Colcock, from the Select Committee of twen- 
ty-one, reported to the Convention an Ordinance and an ac- 
companying Report, on the subject of the Act of the late Con- 
gress of the United States, entitled '■* An Act to modify the Act 
of the 14th July, 1832, and all other Acts imposing duties on 
imports " 

On motion of Mr. Wilson, these were ordered to be printed; 
and, on motion of Judge Colcock, made the order of the day 
for to-morrow. 

Mr. Wilson, after a few explanatory remarks, introduced the 
following Resolution, to wit : 

" Resolved, That a Committee be appointed to wait on our 



339 

Senators and Representatives lately in Congress, and now in the 
Town of Columbia, requesting them to give us genuine infor- 
mation relative to the late proceedings of ihe Federal Govern- 
ment towards South Carolina, in consequence of the Ordinance 
of Nullification, passed by the people of this State, in Conven- 
tion in November last; and that the Committee report what 
arrangements may be made as to the manner and time of giving 
the information desired." 

On motion of Judge Colcock, this Resolution was ordered to 
lie on the table. After a short interval, Mr. Wilson moved to 
take it up for immediate consideration. Gen. Hamilton moved 
to postpone it until to-morrow. After some slight debate, the 
vote was taken on the question of postponement, and the motion 
failed — Ayes, 66 — Noes, 69. The Resolution was then adopt- 
ed, and Mr. Wilson, Gen. Hamilton, and Chancellor Johnston, 
were appointed the Committee. 

Mr. Wilson then introduced the following Resolutions, to wit : 

" Whereas, A Convention of the People of the Stute has been 
called, to place the State of South Carolina upon its Sovereign- 
ty, and to consider of, and do such acts as may, in the opinion 
of this Convention, serve more effectually to perpetuate the 
same ; and, ivhereas, protection and allegiance are reciprocal 
duties, and a fundamental principle of all Governments ; be it, 
therefore," 

" Resolved, That it is expedient and proper, that the Consti- 
tution of this State, be so altered and amended, as to require 
every Elector, who may claim to exercise the elective franchise, 
in addition to the oath of qualification now prescribed, to take 
an oath of allegiance to the State of South Carolina ; and upon 
the refusal of any Elector to take such oath, the Managers of 
Elections shall not be permitted to receive his vote." 

" Resolved, That it is expedient and proper, that all officers 
hereafter to be elected to any office of honor, profit or trust, 
civil or military, be required to take an oath of paramount alle- 
giance to the State of South Carolina." 

These Resolutions having been laid before the Convention, 
by the President, Mr, Turnbull stated that the Committee of 
twenty-one, already had the subjects to which they related, un- 
der consideration j whereupon Mr. Wilson moved that they 



340 

should be referred to that Committee, which was agreed to. 
Gen. Hamilton then moved that the gentleman who offered 
these Resolutions, should be added to the Committee, which 
being agreed to, the Hon. John L. Wilson was added to the 
Select Committee of twenty-one. 

Gen. Earle then moved to adjourn, but withdrew the motion, 
in order that an earlier hour than the regular time of meeting 
might be fixed on for that purpose. On motion of Col. Elmore, 
it was ordered that when the Convention adjourned, it should 
adjourn to meet at 11 o'clock, A. M, to-morrow. Gen. Earle 
renewed his motion for immediate adjournment, which having 
been carried, the Convention adjourned accordingly. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



Thursday, March 14, 1833. 

The Convention met to-day at 11 o'clock, A. M., pursuant to 
adjournment. The proceedings were opened with a prayer by 
the Rev. Mr. Keeney, and the Journal of yesterday read. 

Judge Colcock, on the part of the Select Committee of twen- 
ty-one, stated that they were not prepared to make a further 
report to-day, and obtained leave to sit again. 

The following Report was then presented by Mr. Wilson, to 
wit : 

" The Committee appointed to wait upon our late Members and 
Senators in Congress from this State, now in Columbia, re- 
questing them to give such genuine information as they may 
possess, in relation to the Acts of the Federal Government, 
growing out of the late Ordinance of Nullification, by the 
People of this State, in Convention, in November last, have 
performed the duty assigned them, and beg leave respect- 
fully to 

REPORT: 

" That the gentlemen lately composing our Delegation in 



341 

Congress, now in Columbia, deem it unnecessary, as a body, to 
give any exposition of the Acts of Congress referred to, but that 
the views of those who are members of this Convention, on the 
subject, will be submitted to the Convention." 

" J. L. WILSON, Chairman:' 

The Report was, at the motion of Mr. Wilson, ordered to lie 
on the table. 

The Convention then proceeded to the consideration of the 
Ordinance, which had been made the order of the day. 

Judge Colcock moved that the Ordinance should be amended, 
by striking out, in the Preamble, the words, '• as amounts, sub- 
stantially, to an ultimate reduction of the duties to the Revenue 
standard, and that no higher duties shall be laid, than may be 
necessary to defray the economical expenditures of the Govern- 
ment," and inserting the following, to wit : " as will ultimately 
reduce them to the Revenue standard, and provides that no 
more Revenue shall be raised than may be necessary to defray 
the economical expenses of the Government." This amendment 
was adopted. 

Mr. Wilson moved the following amendments, which were 
likewise adopted, to wit : — that after the word " Ordinance," 
should be inserted, " adopted by this Convention, on the 24th 
day of November, 1832," — after the word "passed," to insert 
" by the General Assembly of this State," — and again, after the 
word " passed," occurring the second time, the same words, to 
wit : " by the General Assembly of this State." 

After some discussion upon the question of the adoption of 
the Ordinance, thus amended, in which the Hon. Stephen D. 
Miller, the Hon. R. W. Barnwell, R. Barnwell Smith, Esq., 
Gen. Hamilton, and Col. F. H. Elmore, took part. Gen. Hamil- 
ton moved to re-commit the Report and Ordinance to the Com- 
mittee of twenty-one. Chancellor Johnston moved that the 
question should be separately taken on the Report and Ordi- 
nance. The President stated that, as the Report was not prop- 
erly before the Convention, the question would be solely on the 
re-commitment of the Ordinance. Gen. Hamilton then with- 
drew his motion. After some further discussion, as to the adop- 
tion of the Ordinance, Mr. Bowie moved that its further con- 



342 

sideration should be postponed until to-morrow. The vote by 
acclamation leaving the President in doubt, a division was call- 
ed for, and the Ayes were found to be 57 — the Noes, 63. The 
motion was consequently lost. Mr. Butler then moved to ad- 
journ, which was also lost. On motion, a recess of two hours 
was taken by the Convention. 



Four o'clock, P. M. 

The Convention re-assembled. Mr. J. Walter Phillips moved 
that the Preamble to the Ordinance should be stricken out. 
This elicited a debate, in which Mr. Wilson, Mr. Phillips, Gen. 
Hamilton, and Mr. Whitefield, bore a part, when the question 
being taken, the motion was lost. Judge Colcock then moved 
that the further consideration of the Ordinance should be post- 
poned, and that it should be made the order of the day for to- 
morrow, which was agreed to. 

On motion of Mr. Butler, the Report was then taken up, and 
ordered to be re-committed to the Committee of twenty-one. 
The Convention then adjourned until 10 o'clock to-morrow. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



Friday, March 15, 1833. 

The Convention met to-day at 10 o'clock, pursuant to adjourn- 
ment. After a prayer from the Rev. Mr. English, the Journal of 
yesterday was read. 

The following Resolution was submitted by Mr. Wilson, to 
wit : 

" Resolved, That the Librarian receive dollars, for his 

attendance at the Legislative Library, during the last and pres- 
ent session of the Convention ; and the President of the Con- 
vention be authorized to draw his warrant for the same." 



343 

On motion of Mr. Wilson, the blank was filled with the word 
" sixty," and the Resolution adopted. 

Judge Colcock presented a Resolution, fixing Monday next, 
as the time for the adjournment of the present session of the 
Convention, which was, on motion of Mr. Spann, laid on the 
table. 

Judge Colcock presented the Report, vv'hich was yesterday 
re-committed to the Committee of twenty-one. 

Judge Harper, on the part of the same Committee, made a 
further report, consisting of a Report and Ordinance in relation 
to the Act of the late Congress, entitled " an Act further to pro- 
vide for the collection of duties on imports." 

Gen. Hamilton, on the part of the same Committee, made a 
third Report, on the subject of the mediation of Virginia. 

On motion of Judge Colcock, the two last Reports were or- 
dered to be printed, and made the order of the day for to- 
morrow. 

The following Resolution was then introduced by Gen. Ham- 
ilton, to wit : 

" Resolved, That whilst this Convention, as an offering to the 
peace and harmony of this Union, in a just regard to the inter- 
position of the highly patriotic Commonwealth of Virginia, and 
with a proper deference to the united vote of the whole South- 
ern States, in favour of the recent accommodation of the Tariff", 
has made the late modification of the Tariff", approved by Act of 
Congress, of the 2d March, 1833, the basis of the repeal of her 
Ordinance of the 24th November, 1832 — yet this Convention 
owes it to itself, to the people they represent, and the posterity 
of that people, to declare that they do not, by reason of said re- 
peal, acquiesce in the principle of the substantive power exist- 
ing on the part of Congress, to protect domestic manufactures : 
and hence, on the final adjustment, in 1842, of the reductions, 
under the Act of 2d March, 1833, or at any previous period, 
should odious discriminations be instituted for the purpose of 
continuing in force the protective principle. South Carolina will 
feel herself free to resist such a violation of what she conceives 
to be the good faith of the Act of the 2nd March, 1833, by the 
interposition of her sovereignty, or in any other mode she may 
deem proper." 



344 

This resolution was also ordered to be printed, and made the 
special order of the day for tomorrow. R. Barnwell Smith, Esq. 
moved to append to it the following resolution, which was or- 
dered accordingly, to wit : 

" Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Convention, that the 
military preparations heretofore begun by the State, should be 
continued, and that effectual measures should be adopted and 
completed, for putting the State in a firm attitude of defence." 

The Ordinance, which was made the order of the day, was 
then taken up for consideration. 

On motion of Chancellor Johnston, it was agreed to re-con- 
sider the question as to the adoption of the Preamble to the 
Ordinance. Mr. J. Walter Phillips moved to strike it out. This 
was opposed by Mr. Turnbull, advocated by Mr. Phillips and 
Judge Richardson, and opposed by Mr. McDuffie, in reply. 

Mr. Turnbull then moved to amend the Preamble, by substi- 
tuting the words, " provided for," for the word " made," which 
was agreed to. The Ayes and Noes were then taken on strik- 
ing out the Preamble, and were as follows : 

Ayes — Messrs. Brockman, Crooke, Chesnut, Cannon, Clinton, 
R. Ervin, J. P. Evans, Gibson, Cause, Gill, James, Lancaster, 
McCord, O'Neale, P. Phillips, J. W. Phillips, Perry, J. S. Rich- 
ardson, Sistrunk, Whitten, Wilkins. — 21. 

Noes — Robert Y. Hayne, President, B. Adams, J. Adams, 
Ayer, J. Anderson, R. Anderson, Arnold, Baker, Ball, Bee, 
Boone, Barnwell, Bradwell, Blewett, Butler, John G. Brown, J. 
G. Brown, Bauskett, A. Burt, F. Burt, Barton, Bowie, Black, 
Belin, Cohen, Cordes, T. H. Colcock, C. J. Colcock, Capers, 
Clifton, Caughman, Counts, Chambers, Campbell, Cureton, 
Coggeshall, Dubose, Dawson, J. Douglas, G. Douglas, Elmore, 
Earle, J. B.. Ervin, VV, Evans, Felder, Fuller, T. L. Gourdin, 
P. G. Gourdin, Goodwyn, Gailliard, Griffin, Glenn, Gregg, J. 
Hamilton, Jr., Heyward, Harper, Harrison, Hatton, Harllee, 
Huguenin, I'On, Jeter, Johnston, Jacobs, Key, Keith, King, 
Levy, Lowry, Lacoste, Legare, Lawton, Long, Lipscomb, Lo- 
gan, Litllejohn, Magrath, Maner, Murray, Mills, McCall, Means, 
Mays, McDufl^e, Moore, J. L. Miller, S. D. Miller, J. B. Miller, 
Nowell, O'Bannon, Parker, Porcher, Palmer, C. C. Pinckney, 



345 

W. C. Pinckney, T. Pinckney, Quash, Rivers, Rowe, Rogers, 
Ray, J. G. Spann, J. Spann, Simons, Shand, J. M. Smith, G. 
H. Smith, W. Smith, S. Smith, R. B. Smith, Stringfellow, Scott, 
Symmes, Sims, Shannon, Singleton, Stevens, TurnbuU, Tyler, 
Tidyman, Ulmer, Vaught, Vanderhorst, Wilson, Walker, Wil- 
liams, Woodward, Williamson, Wardlaw, Whatley, Whitefield, 
Watt, Waties, Ware, Warren, Young.— 136. 

The question was then put as to the adoption of the Ordi- 
nance, and the Ayes and Noes being taken, were as follows : 

Ayes — Robert Y. Hayne, President, B. Adams, J. Adams, 
Ayer, J. Anderson, R. Anderson, Arnold, Baker, Ball, Bee, 
Boone, Barnwell, Bradwell, Blewett, Butler, John G. Brown, 
J. G. Brown, Bauskett, A. Burt, F. Burt, Barton, Brockman, 
Bowie, Black, Belin, Cohen, Cordes, T. H. Colcock, C. J. Col- 
cock, Capers, Clifton, Caughman, Counts, Crooke, Chambers, 
Campbell, Cureton, Chesnut, Cannon, Clinton, Coggeshall, Du- 
bose, Dawson, J. Douglas, G. Douglas, Elmore, Earle, J. R. 
Ervin,R. Ervin, W. Evans, J. P. Evans, Fuller, T. L. Gourdin, 
P. G. Gourdin, Gailliard, Griffin, Glenn, Gibson, Gregg, Gause, 
Gill, J. Hamilton, Jr., Heyward, Harper, Harrison, Hatton, 
Harllee, Huguenin, I'On, Jeter, Johnston, James, Jacobs, Keith, 
Key, King, Levy, Lowry, Lacoste, Legare, Lawton, Long, Lips- 
comb, Logan, Littlejohn, Lancaster, Magrath, Maner, Murray, 
Mills, McCall, Means, Mays, McDuffie, Moore, J. L. Miller, S. 
D. Miller, J. B. Miller, Nowell, O'Neale, O'Bannon, P. Phillips, 
Parker, Porcher, Palmer, Perry, C. C. Pinckney, W. C. Pinck- 
ney, T. Pinckney, Quash, J. S. Richardson, Rivers, Rowe, 
Rogers, Ray, J. G. Spann, J. Spann, Simons, Shand, S. Smith, 
J. M. Smith, G. H. Smith, W. Smith, R. B. Smith, Stringfellow, 
Scott, Symmes, Sims, Shannon, Singleton, Stevens, Sistrunk, 
Turnbull, Tyler, Tidyman, Ulmer, Vaught, Vanderhorst, Wilson, 
Walker, Williams, Woodward, Williamson, Wardlaw, Whatley, 
Whitefield, Whitten, Watt, Waties, Wilkins, Ware, Warren, 
Young. — 153. 

Noes— Felder, Goodwyn, McCord, J. W. Phillips.— 4. 
Absent — 11. 

Messrs. Whitten, Perry, Lipscomb, and J. R. Ervin, obtained 

45 



346 

leave to be absent from the Convention, during the remainder 
of the session. 

A motion was now made to adjourn, but having been lost, the 
Report accompanying the Ordinance just adopted, was taken up 
for consideration. The Report was read by the President, and 
the question put as to agreeing to the amendtnent reported by 
the Committee, recommending to strike out the words " and 
triumph," from the phrase "cause for congratulation and tri- 
umph," which passed in the affirmative. 

A verbal amendment was moved by Col. Bauskelt, and 
agreed to. 

Mr. R. Barnwell Smith moved to lay the Report on the table, 
but withdrew the motion to give an opportunity for discussion. 
In this, the Hon. S. D. Miller, Judge Colcock, Mr. Smith, and 
Gen. Hamilton, took part. The question was then put, on the 
motion to lay the Report on the table, and the motion lost. 
The vote being taken on the adoption of the Report, it was 
adopted by the Convention. 

It was then moved by Gen. Hamilton, to take up for consid- 
eration the Resolution fixing the time of adjournment. This 
elicited some debate, when Mr. Miller moved to adjourn until 
to-morrow, at ten o'clock, which having been agreed to, the 
Convention adjourned accordingly. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention. 



Saturday, March 16, 1833. 

The Convention met at ten o'clock, A. M., pursuant to ad- 
journment. The proceedings were opened with a prayer by the 
Rev. Mr. Jackson, and the Journal of yesterday read. The 
following Report was presented by the Hon. J. L. Wilson, to 
wit : 

" The Engrossing Committee, to which was referred the Or- 
dinance passed yesterday, in Convention, for rescinding the 



347 

Ordinance of Nullification, adopted on the 24th of November 
last, beg leave to report the same as engrossed, and suggest the 
propriety of the same order of signature as was observed in the 
Ordinance of Nullification. 

JOHN L. WILSON, Chairman:' 

On motion of Mr. Miller, it was ordered that the ratification 
should be according to the usual parliamentary form, viz : by 
the signatures, merely, of the President and Clerk. The Ordi- 
nance as engrossed, after having been read by the Chair, was 
so ratified, in the presence of the Convention. 

A recess was then taken until twelve o'clock, M. 

The Ordinance as ratified, and the accompanying Report, as 
adopted by the Convention, are as follows, to wit : 



REPORT 



The Committee, to whom was referred the communication of 
the Hon. B. W. Leigh, Commissioner from the State of Vir- 
ginia, and all other matters connected wiih the subject, and 
the course which should be pursued by the Convention, at 
the present important crisis of our political atfairs, beg leave to 

REPORT: 

(in part,) 

That they have had under consideration, the Act passed at 
the late session of Congress, to modify the "Act of the 14th 
July, 1832, and all other Acts imposing duties upon imports ;" 
and have duly deliberated on the course which it becomes the 
people of South Carolina to pursue at this interesting crisis in 
her political affairs. It is now upwards of ten years since the 
people and constituted authorities of this State, took ground 
against the Protecting System, as " unconstitutional, oppressive 
and unjust," and solemnly declared, in language which was then 
cordially responded to by the other Southern States, that it 
never could be submitted to " as the settled policy of the coun- 



348 

try." After remonstrating for years against this system in vain, 
and making every possible effort to produce a redress of the 
grievance, by invoking the protection of the Constitution, and 
by appealing to the justice of our brethren, we saw, during the 
session of Congress which ended in July last, a modification 
effected, avowedly as the final adjustment of the Tariff, to take 
effect after the complete extinguishment of the Public Debt, by 
which the Protecting System could only be considered as riveted 
upon the country forever. Believing that under these circum- 
stances, there was no hope of any further reduction of the du- 
ties, from the ordinary action of the Federal Government, and 
convinced, that under the operation of this system, the labor 
and capital of the plantation Slates must be forever tributary to 
the manufacturing States, and that we should in effect, be re- 
duced to a condition of colonial vassalage, South Carolina felt 
herself constrained, by a just regard for her own rights and in- 
terests, by her love of liberty and her devotion to the Constitu- 
tion, to interpose in her sovereign capacity, for the purpose of 
arresting the progress of the evil, and maintaining, within her 
own limits, the authorities, rights and liberties, appertaining to 
her as a sovereign State. Ardently attached to the union of 
the States, the people of South Carolina were still more devoted 
to the rights of the States, without which the Union itself would 
cease to be a blessing ; and well convinced that the regulation 
of the whole labor and capital of this vast Confederacy by a 
great central Government, must lead inevitably to the total 
destruction of our free institutions, they did not hesitate to throw 
themselves fearlessly into the breach, to arrest the torrent of 
usurpation which was sweeping before it all that was truly val- 
uable in our political system. 

The effect of this interposition, if it has not equalled our 
wishes, has been beyond what existing circumstances would 
have authorized us to expect. The spectacle of a single State, 
unaided and alone, standing up for her rights, — influenced by 
no other motive than a sincere desire to maintain the public 
liberty, and bring about a salutary reform in the administration 
of the Government, has roused the attention of the whole coun- 
try, and has caused many to pause and reflect, who have here- 
tofore seemed madly bent on the consummation of a scheme of 



349 

policy absolutely fatal to the liberty of the people, and the pros- 
perity of a large portion of the Union. Though reviled and 
slandered by those whose pecuniary or political interests stood 
in the way of a satisfactory adjustment of the controversy — de- 
serted by many to whom she had a right to look for succor and 
support, and threatened with violence from abroad, and convul- 
sions within, South Carolina, conscious of the rectitude of her 
intentions, and the justice of her cause, has stood unmoved; 
firmly resolved to maintain her liberties, or perish in the con- 
flict. The result has been a beneficial modification of the Ta- 
riff" of 1832, even before the time appointed for that Act to go 
into eflfect, and within a few months after its enactment; ac- 
companied by a provision for a gradual reduction of the duties 
to the revenue standard. Though the reduction provided for 
by the Bill which has just passed, is, neither in its amount, nor 
the time when it is to go into effect, such as the South had a 
right to require, yet such an approach has been made towards 
the true principles on which the duties on imports ought to be 
adjusted under our system, that the people of South Carolina 
are willing so far to yield to the measure, as to agree that their 
Ordinance shall henceforth be considered as having no force or 
effect. Unequal and oppressive as the system of raising revenue 
by duties upon imports, must be upon the agricultural States, 
which furnish more than two thirds of the domestic exports of 
the United States, yet South Carolina always has been, and sti'l 
is willing to make large sacrifices to the peace and harmony of 
the Union. Though she believes that the Protecting System is 
founded in the assumption of powers not granted by the Con- 
stitution of the Federal Government, yet she has never insisted 
on such an immediate reduction of the duties as should involve 
the manufacturers in ruin. That a reduction to the lowest 
amount necessary to supply the wants of the Government, might 
be safely effected in four or five years, cannot, in our estima- 
tion, admit of a reasonable doubt; still, in a great struggle for 
principles. South Carolina would disdain to cavil about a small 
amount of duties, and a few years more or less in effecting the 
adjustment, provi.-!ed only she can secure substantial justice, 
and obtain a distinct recognition of the principles for which she 
has so long contended. Among the provisions of the new Bill, 



350 

which recommend it to our acceptance, are the establishment 
of a system of ad valorem duties, and the entire abandonment 
of the specific duties, and the minimums ; tyrannical provisions, 
by which duties rated nominally at 25 per cent, were, in many 
cases, raised to upwards of 100 per cent ; and by which the 
coarse and cheap articles, used by the poor, were taxed much 
higher than the expensive articles used by the rich ; a regula- 
tion against which we have constantly protested in the most 
earnest terms, as unjust and odious. The reduction before tiie 
expiration of the present year, of one tenth part of the excess 
of the duties over 20 per cent., on all articles " exceeding 20 
per cent, on the value thereof," (embracing the entire mass of 
the protected articles,) and a gradual reduction thereafter, on 
such articles, down to 20 per cent., (the duties upon which, un- 
der the Tariff of 1832, range from 30 to upwards of 100 per 
cent., and average upwards of 50 per cent.,) are great and man- 
ifest ameliorations of the system, to the benefits of which we 
cannot be insensible. But great as must be the advantages of 
these reductions, they are small in. comparison with the distinct 
recognition, in the new Bill, of two great principles which we 
deem of inestimable value — that the duties shall be eventually 
brought down to the revenue standard, even if it should be found 
necessary to reduce the duties on the protected articles below 
20 per cent., and that no more money shall be raised than shall 
be necessary to an economical administration of the Govern- 
ment. 

These provisions embody great principles in reference to this 
subject, for which South Carolina has long and earnestly con- 
tended ; and if the pledge therein contained shall be fulfilled in 
good faith, they must in their operation, arrest the abuses wliich 
have grown out of the unauthorized appropriations of the public 
money. We should consider the reduction of the revenue to 
the amount " necessary to the economical administration of the 
government," as one of the happiest reforms which could possi- 
bly take place in the practical operation of our system ; as it 
would arrest the progress of corruption, limit the exercise of 
Executive patronage and power, restore the independence of the 
States, and put an end to all these questions of disputed ]. 
against which we have constantly protested. It is thisa.^.rCi 

t 



351 

of the question which has reconciled us to the provisions of the 
new Bill, (certainly not free from objections) which provide for 
the introduction of linens, silks, worsted, and a number of other 
articles, free of duty. The reduction of revenue which will 
thereby be effected, and the beneficial influence of a free trade, 
in several of these articles which are almost exclusively pur- 
chased by the agricultural staples of the Southern States, and 
which will furnish an advantageous exchange for these produc- 
tions, to the amount of several millions of dollars annually, are 
considerations not to be overlooked. Nor can we be insensible 
to the benefit to be derived from the united efforts of the whole 
South, aided by dther States having interests identified with our 
own, in bringing about the late adjustment of the Tariff"; prom- 
ising, we trust, for the future, that union of sentiment, and con- 
cert in action, which are necessary to secure the rights and 
interests of the Southern States, On the whole, in whatever 
aspect the question is contemplated, your Committee find, in 
the late modification of the Tariff', cause fur congratulation. If 
we have not yet succeeded in the complete establishment of the 
great principles of free trade and constitutional liberty, such 
progress has been made towards the accomplishment of the for- 
mer, as must serve to re-kindle our hopes, and to excite us to 
fresh exertions in the glorious work of reform in which we are 
engaged. Influenced by these views, the Committee is satisfied 
that it would not comport with the liberal feelings of the people 
of South Carolina, nor be consistent with the sincere desire by 
which they have always been animated, not only to live in har- 
mony with their brethren, but to preserve the Union of the 
States, could they hesitate under existing circumstances, in 
recommending that the Ordinance <if Nullification, and the acts 
of the Legislature consequent thereon, be henceforth held and 
deemed of no force and effect. And they recommend the fol- 
lowing Ordinance. 



352 



AN ORDINANCE. 

Whereas, the Congress of the United States, by an Act re- 
cently passed, has provided for such a reduction and modifica- 
tion of the duties upon foreign imports, as will ultimately reduce 
them to the Revenue Standard — and provides that no more Rev- 
enue shall be raised than may be necessary to defray the eco- 
nomical expenses of the Government. 

/;; is, therefore, Ordained and Declared, That the Ordinance 
adopted by this Convention on the 24th day of November last, 
entitled " An Ordinance to Nullify certain acts of the Congress 
of the United States, purporting to be laws, laying duties on the 
importation of foreign commodities," and all acts passed by the 
General Assembly of this State, in pursuance thereof, be hence- 
forth deemed and held to have no force or effect : Provided, 
That the Act entitled "An Act further to alter and amend the 
Militia laws of this State," passed by the General Assembly of 
this State on the 20th day of December, 1832, shall remain in 
force, until it shall be repealed or modified by the Legislature. 

Done at Columbia, the fifteenth day of March, in the year of 
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, and in 
the fifty-seventh year of the Sovereignty and Independence of 
the United States of America. 

ROBERT Y. HAYNE, Del- J 

egate from the Parishes o^\ President of the Convention. 
St. Philip and St. Michael, ) 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, Clerk. 



353 

Twelve o'clock, M. 

The Convention re-assembled. Mr. S. L. Simons, from the 
Committee on Accounts, presented the following Report, to wit : 

" The Committee on Accounts, to whom was referred a Resolu- 
tion, instructing them to examine and Report on the Accounts 
of this Convention, and what balance may stand to its credit 
in the Treasury, and what further sum may be necessary for 
defraying the expenses of its present session, beg leave to 

REPORT: 

" That they have carefully examined all the accounts which 
were contracted under the orders of the Convention, together 
with the pay roll of its Members and Officers, and find them cor- 
rect in every particular. Of the sum of ten thousand dollars ap- 
propriated by the Legislature for the use of the Convention, eight 
thousand, three hundred and eighty-five dollars 53-100, have 
been disbursed ; and a balance of one thousand six hundred and 
fourteen dollars 47-100, remain to its credit in the Treasury. 
Taking the expenditures of the former as a guide for the wants 
of the present session, your Committee would respectfully re- 
commend the adoption of the following resolution : 

" Resolved, That the President of this Convention be author- 
ized to issue his warrants on the Treasury, to the amount of ten 
thousand dollars, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of 
the present session, if so much be necessary. 

S. L. SIMONS, Chairman.'' 

This Resolution was adopted by the Convention. 

On motion of Mr. Spann, a Resolution was passed, inviting to 
a seat within the bar of the Convention, the Hon. Dixon H. Lewis, 
a Representative in Congress from the State of Alabama, now in 
Columbia. 

The Report and Ordinance on the Force Bill, which had been 

made the order of the day, were then taken up. The Ordinance 

was announced by the President to be first in order. The Hon. 

R. W. Barnwell moved to strike out so much of the Ordinance as 

46 



354 

relates to the requisition of an oath of allegiance. The follow- 
ing motions to amend having precedence, were first put and 
adopted, lo wit : that the words " or appointed," should be add- 
ed after the word " elected ;" the word " such" be inserted after 
the word " any," in the first line of the last paragraph, and the 
words " heretofore elected, or hereafter to be elected," be strick- 
en out. 

Mr. Barnwell's motion being now again before the Conven- 
tion, on motion, it was ordered, that when the question should 
be taken, it should be by iVyes and Noes. A discussion arose, 
in which Judge O'Neale, Judge Harper, Mr. Turnbull, and Mr. 
P. Phillips, took part. Mr. Wilson proposed to amend the Ordi- 
nance, by striking out, after the words " We further ordain," and 
inserting the following, to wit : "That no person, who shall be 
hereafter elected or appointed, or who has heretofore been elect- 
ed, but who has not yet taken the oaths of oflSce required at the 
time of his election or appointment, to any office, civil or mili- 
tary, within this State, (member.-; of the Legislature excepted) 
shall enter on the execution of such office, or be in any respect 
competent to discharge the duties thereof, until he shall have 
taken, in addition to the oaths of office now required, at the 
same time and in the same manner, that such oaths are required 
to be taken, the following oath of allegiance. 

"I declare myself a citizen of the Free and Sovereign State 
of South Carolina; I declare that my allegiance is due to the 
said State, and hereby renounce and abjure all other allegiance, 
incompatible therewith ; and I will be true and faithful to the 
said State, so long as I continue a citizen thereof: So help me 
God. 

"■^ And it is further Ordained, That if any officer heretofore 
elected, shall refuse or neglect to take the aforesaid oath, within 
the time that other oaths of office are required by law to be 
taken, such office shall be considered as vacant, and the Governor 
of the State shall proceed (except in the instance of Judges of 
the State) to fill such vacancy by appointing an officer, lo serve 
until another officer shall be elected and qualified." 

This amendment was ordered to be printed. The Convention 
then took a recess of two hours. 



355 

Six o'clock, P. M. 

The Convention re-assembled. Mr. Barnwell moved to lay 
the Ordinance upon the table, and to take up the Report and 
Resolutions relating to the Virginia Mediation, which was 
agreed to. Mr. Perry moved that the question should be taken 
separately on the Report and Resolutions, which was likewise 
agreed to. The Resolutions, being first in order, were consid- 
ered and unanimously adopted, and were ordered to be so enter- 
ed on the Journals. The Report was then taken up and adopted 
by the Convention. 

The Report and Resolutions, as adopted, are as follows : 



REPORT, 

ON THE MEDIATION OF VIRGINIA. 



The Committee to whom were referred the Resolutions of the 
General Assembly of Virginia, and the communication of Mr. 
Leigh to the Governor of the State of South Carolina, beg 
leave to 

REPORT: 

That, although circumstances have supervened, since the in- 
stitution of this Commission on the part of the highly respected 
Commonwealth from which it proceeds, which have enabled this 
Convention to accomplish the object, which her Assembly so 
anxiously and patriotically had in view, we are nevertheless sen- 
sible of the friendly dispositions and sympathy, which induced 
the interposition of her good offices, at a moment when South 
Carolina, denounced by the Executive of the Federal Govern- 
ment, and threatened with the extremity of its vengeance, stood 
absolutely alone in the contest she was waging for the rights of 
the States and the Constitutional liberties of the Country. 

To this interference and these friendly dispositions. South 
Carolina desires to respond, as a sister, sovereign, and independ- 



356 

ent Commonwealth, in a tone of candor, confidence and affec- 
tion. Appreciating thus sensibly, both the motives and objects 
which influenced the General Assembly of Virginia, to despatch 
at a moment so interesting, her Commissioner to this State, 
whose mission, even if the recent modification of the Tariff had 
not been adopted, would have challenged her high respect and 
profound consideration, she cannot permit the occasion thus of- 
fered, to pass, without making a few declarations which she re- 
gards as due to herself and the public liberty of the Country. 

In the first place. South Carolina desires to stand acquitted, 
and believes, on a calm and dispassionate reflection by her 
co-States, she must stand acquitted, of the charge of having act- 
ed with any undue precipitation, in the controversy hitherto 
pending with the General Government- For ten years she peti- 
tioned, protested and remonstrated, against that system of unjust 
and unconstitutional Legislation, which had equally received 
the reprobation of Virginia, before she resorted to her veto, to 
forbid its enforcement within her limits. In exercising this fac- 
ulty of her sovereignty, she believed she rested on those doc- 
trines which, in 179S and 1799, had conferred on Virginia and 
her distinguished statesmen a renown so unfading. She now 
refers to this subject in no invidious spirit of controversy : but 
when Virginia asserted, in those memorable Resolutions of her 
General Assembly, " that she viewed the powers of the Federal 
Government as resulting from the compact to which the States 
are parties ; as limited by the plain sense and intention of the in- 
strument constituting that compact; as no further valid than 
they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact ; 
and that, in case of a deliberate, palpable and dangerous exercise 
of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the States, 
who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, 
to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for main- 
taining within their respective limits the authorities, rights and 
liberties, appertaining to them" — we conceived she had done 
nothing more or less, than announce the remedy which South 
Carolina has resorted to, through her State interposition. It is 
moreover asserted, in the Report explanatory of those Resolu- 
tions, that this right is a Constitutional, and not a Revolutionary 
right; and by the whole context of the powerful argument em- 



357 

braced in that Report, the right itself stands forth as separate 
and independent of the ordinary remedies of procuring a redress 
for the ordinary abuses of the Federative Government. 

When, therefore, the General Assembly of Virginia, in the 
recent Resolutions, borne by her Commissioner, which your 
Committee are now considering, declares " that she does not 
regard the Resolutions of 1798, and '99, as sanctioning the pro- 
ceedings of South Carolina, as indicated in the Ordinance of her 
Convention," with all proper deference. South Carolina must, 
nevertheless, adhere, with an honest and abiding confidence, to 
her own construction. It is within the providence of God that 
great truths should be independent of the human agents that 
promulgate them. Once announced, they become the subjects 
and property of reason, to all men and in all time to come. Nor 
will South Carolina feel less confidence in the conservative char- 
acter of her remedy, which she believes to be in perfect harmo- 
ny with a true exposition of the doctrines of the Resolutions of 
1798, by the recent testimony afforded of its efficacy, in a pacific 
accommodation of the late controversy with the Federal Gov- 
ernment, although that Government has attempted to destroy 
the authority and efficiency of this remedy, by the contemporary 
passage of an act, perpetrating a worse and more aggravated 
outrage on the Constitution, which has again demanded the in- 
terposition of this Convention. 

With this brief justification of the principles of South Caro- 
lina, your Committee take leave of the subject ; assuring the 
ancient and distinguished Commonwealth, whose mission has 
been borne, by her Commissioner, with an ability, temper, and 
affection, entirely corresponding with her own dispositions, that 
in the struggles for liberty and right which we apprehend from 
the antagonist principles, now fearfully at work, between those 
who support a limited and economical system of Government, 
and those who favor a consolidated and extravagant one, which 
the States in a minority are destined to wage, she will find, in 
South Carolina, a faithful and devoted ally, in accomplishing 
the great work of Freedom and Union. If she cannot say, with 
Virginia, that consolidation and disunion are equivalent evils, 
because she believes, with their own Jefferson, that consolida- 
tion is the greatest of all political curses to which our Federa- 



358 

tive form of Government can have any possible tendency ; she, 
nevertheless, affirms, and challenges the production of any 
event in her history to disprove the declaration, that she is devo- 
ted to the union of these States, on the very terms and condi- 
tions of that compact out of which the Union had its origin ; and 
for these principles she is prepared to peril, at all times and un- 
der all circumstances, the lives and fortunes of her people. 

Your Committee conclude, by recommending the adoption of 
the following Resolutions : 

Resolved, unanimously, That the President of this Convention 
do communicate to the Governor of Virginia, with a copy of this 
Report and these Resolutions, our distinguished sense of the 
patriotic and friendly motives which actuated her General As- 
sembly, in tendering her mediation, in the late controversy be- 
tween the General Government and the State of South Caroli- 
na ; with the assurance that her friendly councils will at all 
times command our respectful consideration. 

Resolved, unanimously. That the President of this Convention 
likewise convey to the Governor of Virginia, our high apprecia- 
tion of the able and conciliatory manner in which Mr. Leigh has 
conducted his mission, during which he has afforded the most 
gratifying satisfaction to all parties, in sustaining, towards us, 
the kind and fraternal relations of his own State. 

On motion of Mr. Barnwell, the Convention then adjourned 
until Monday at 10 o'clock. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

Clerk of the Convention, 



Monday, March 18, 1833. 

The Convention met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 o'clock, 
A. M. The proceedings were opened by a prayer from the Rev. 
Mr. Tradewell, and the Journal of yesterday read. The amend- 
ments of Mr. Wilson, as to that part of the Ordinance relating 



359 

to the oath of allegiance, were then taken up for consideration, 
and supported in a speech, by the mover. After which, on mo- 
tion of Mr. Barnwell, a recess was taken until 4 o'clock, P. M. 

Four o'clock, P. M. 

The Convention re-assembled, and Mr. Wilson's amendments 
were again taken up. On his motion the Ayes and Noes were 
taken, and found to be as follows : 

Ayes — R. Anderson, Arnold, Boone, Bradwell, J. G. Brown, 
F. Burt, Barton, Black, Curdes, Felder, P. G. Gourdin, Good- 
wyn, Gailliard,Hatton, King, Long, Lancaster, McCord, W. C. 
Pinckney, Rowe, J. G. Spann, J. Spann, W. Smith, Scott, Sin- 
gleton, Ulmer, Wilson, Walker, Williams, Whitefield. — 30. 

Noes — Robert Y. Hayne, President, B. Adams, J. Adams, 
Ayer, J. Anderson, Baker, Ball, Bee, Barnwell, Blewett, Butler, 
John G. Brown, Bauskett, A. Burt, Brockman, Bowie, Belin, 
Cohen, T. H. Colcock, C. J. Colcock, Capers, Clifton, Caugh- 
man, Counts, Crooke, Chambers, Campbell, Curelon, Chesnut, 
Cannon, Clinton, Coggeshall, Dubose, Dawson, J. Douglas, G. 
Douglas, Elmore, Earle, R. Ervin, VV. Evans, J. P. Evans, Fuller, 
T. L. Gourdin, Griffin, Glenn, Gibson, Gregg, Cause, Gill, 
J. Hamilton, Jr., Heyward, Harrison, Harllee, Huguenin, I'On, 
Jeter, Johnston, James, Jacobs, Keith, Key, Levy, Lowry, La- 
coste, Lawton, Logan, Littlejohn, Magrath, Maner, Murray, Mills, 
McCall, Means, Mays, McDuffie, Moore, J. L. Miller, S. D. Mil- 
ler, J. B. Miller, Nowell, O'Neale, O'Bannon, P. Phillips, J. W. 
Phillips, Parker, Porcher, Palmer, Perry, T. Pinckney, C. C. 
Pinckney, Rivers, Rogers, Ray, Simons, Shand, J. M. Smith, G. 
H. Smith, S. Smith, R. B. Smith, Stringfellow, Symmes, Sims, 
Shannon, Stevens, Sistrunk, Turnbuil, Tyler, Tidyman, Vaught, 
Woodward, Williamson, Wardlaw, Whatley, Watt, Watics, Wil- 
kins, Ware, Warren, Young. — 118. 

Chancellor Johnston then moved to strike out that part of the 
Ordinance, as reported, relating to the requisition of an oath of 
allegiance, and to insert the following, to wit : 

" We do further Ordain and Declare, That the allegiance of 
the citizens of this State, while they continue such, is due to the 



360 



said State ; and that obedience only, and not allegiance, is due 
by them to any other power or authority, to whom a control over 
them has been, or may be delegated by the State : and the 
General Assembly of the said State is hereby empowered, from 
time to time, when they may deem it proper, to provide for the 
administration to the citizens and officers of the State, or such 
of the said officers as they may think fit, of suitable oaths or af- 
firmations, binding them to the observance of such allegiance, 
and abjuring all other allegiance ; and, also, to define what shall 
amount to a violation of their allegiance, and to provide the pro- 
per punishment for such violation." 

Judge Colcock proposed the following amendment to that 
amendment : 

''Resolved, That it is expedient to refer the subject of an 
oath of allegiance, to the Legislature, with a recommendation 
that a Bill be introduced to make it a Constitutional provision, in 
the mode pointed out by that instrument ; which would afford 
the people an opportunity of expressing their opinions on the 
subject." 

The vote having been taken on this, it was rejected. 

The question then recurring on Chancellor Johnston's amend- 
ment, the Ayes and Noes were called for, and found to be as 
follows, to wit : 

Ayes— Robert Y. Hayne, President, B. Adams, Ayer, J. An- 
derson, Baker, Ball, Bee, Boone, Barnwell, Blewett, John G. 
Brown, Bauskett, A. Burt, Bowie, Belin, Cohen, Cordes, T. H. 
Colcock, C. J. Colcock, Capers, Caughman, Counts, Chambers, 
Campbell, Coggeshall, Dubose, Dawson, J. Douglas, G. Douglas, 
Elmore, Earle, Fuller, Griffin, Glenn, J. Hamilton, Jr., Ileyward, 
Harrison, Hatton, Harllee, Huguenin, I'On, Jeter, Johnston, Ja- 
cobs, Keith, Legare, Lawton, Long, Logan, Littlejohn, Magrath, 
Manor, Murray, Mills, McCall, Means, Mays, McDuffie, Moore, 
J. L. Miller, Nowell, O'Bannon, Parker, Porcher, Palmer, C. C. 
Pinckney, T. Pinckney, Quash, Rivers, Rogers, Ray, J. G. Spann, 
Simons, Shand, J. M. Smith, G. H. Smith, W. Smith, R. B. 
Smith, Stringfellow, Sims, Stevens, Turnbull, Tyler, Ulmer, 
Vaught, Vanderhorst, Williams, Wardlaw, Whatley, Watt, 
Young— 90. 



361 

Noes— J. Adams, R. Anderson, Arnold, Bradwell, Butler, J. 
G. Brown, F. Burt, Barton, Brockman, Black, Clifton, Crooke, 
Cureton, Chesnut, Cannon, Clinton, R. Ervin, W. Evans, J. P. 
Evans, Felder, T. L. Gourdin, P. G. Gourdin, Goodwyn, Gail- 
liard, Gibson, Gregg, Cause, Gill, James, Key, King, Levy, 
Lovvry, Lacoste, Lancaster, S. D. Miller, J. B. Miller, McCord, 
O'Neale, P. Phillips, J. W. Phillips, Perry, W. C.Pinckney, Rowe, 
J. Spann, W. Smith, Scott, Symmes, Shannon, Singleton, Sis- 
trunk, Tidyman, Wilson, Walker, Woodward, Williamson, 
Whitefield, Waties, Wilkins, Ware, Warren.— 60. 

The amendment was consequently adopted. 

The Hon. S. D. Miller moved to strike out all that part of the 
Ordinance, after the words " the enforcement thereof," including 
Chancellor Johnston's amendment. The Ayes and Noes were 
again called for, and were as follows, to wit : 

Ayes— J. Adams, R. Anderson, Arnold, Baker, Bee, Boone, 
Bradwell, Blewett, John G. Brown, F. Burt, Barton, Brockman, 
T. H. Colcock, C. J. Colcock, Clifton, Counts, Crooke, Cureton, 
Chesnut, Cannon, Clinton, J. Douglas, Earle, R. Ervin, J. P. 
Evans, Felder, Fuller, T. L. Gourdin, P. G. Gourdin, Gailliard, 
Griffin, Gibson, Cause, Gill, Harrison, Jeter, Johnston, James, 
Keith, Levy, Lowry, Lacoste, Lawton, Littlejohn, Lancaster, 
Means, J. L. Miller, S. D. Miller, J. B. Miller, Nowell, O'Neale, 
P. Phillips, Palmer, Perry, Rowe, Ray, J. G. Spann, J. Spann, 
W. Smith, Stringfellow, Shannon, Singleton, Sistrunk, Tyler, 
Tidyman, Ulmer, Wilson, Walker, Wardlaw, Whatley, Wilkins, 
Ware, Warren. — 73. 

Noes— Robert Y. Hayne, President, B. Adams, Ayer, J. An- 
derson, Ball, Barnwell, Butler, J. G. Brown, Bauskett, A. Burt, 
Bowie, Black, Belin, Cohen, Cordes, Capers, Caughman, Cham- 
bers, Cambell, Coggeshall, Dubose, Dawson, G. Douglas, El- 
more, W. Evans, Goodwyn, Glenn, Gregg, J. Hamilton, Jr., 
Heyward, Hatton, Harllee, Huguenin, I'On, Jacobs, Key, King, 
Legare, Long, Logan, Magrath, Manor, Murray, Mills, McCall, 
Mays, McDuffie, Moore, McCord, O'Bannon, J. W. Phillips, 
Parker, Porcher, C. C. Pinckney, W. C. Pinckney,T. Pinckney, 
Q,uash, Rivers, Rogers, Simons, Shand, J. M. Smith, G. H. 
Smith, S. Smith, R. B. Smith, Scott, Symmes, Sims, Stevens, 
47 



362 

Turnbull, Vaught, Vanderhorst, Williams, Woodward, William- 
son, Whitefield, Watt, Waties, Young.— 79. 

The Ayes and Noes were now called for, upon the question of 
the adoption of the Ordinance as amended, and being taken, 
were found to be as follows, to wit : 

Ayes— Robert Y. Hayne, President, B. Adams, J. Adams, 
Ayer, J. Anderson, R. Anderson, Arnold, Baker, Ball, Bee, 
Boone, Barnwell, Bradwell, Blewett, Butler, John G. Brown, J. 
G. Brown, Bauskett, A. Burt, F. Burt, Barton, Bowie, Black, 
Belin, Cohen, Cordes, T. H. Colcock, C. J. Colcock, Capers, 
Clifton, Caughman, Counts, Chambers, Campbell, Coggeshall, 
Dubose, Dawson, J. Douglas, G. Douglas, Elmore, Earle, W. 
Evans, Felder, Fuller, T. L. Gourdin, P. G. Gourdin, Goodwyn, 
Gailliard, Griffin, Glenn, Gregg, J. Hamilton, Jr., Heyward, 
Harrison, Hatton, Harllee, Huguenin, I'On, Jeter, Johnston, 
James, Jacobs, Keith, Key, King, Lacoste, Legare, Lawton, 
Long, Logan, Littlejohn, Lancaster, Magrath, Maner, Murray, 
Mills, McCall, Means, Mays, McDuffie, Moore, J. L. Miller, S. 
D. Miller, J. B. Miller, McCord, Nowell, O'Bannon, J. W.Phil- 
lips, Parker, Porcher, Palmer, C. C. Pinckney, W. C. Pinckney, 
T. Pinckney, Quash, Rivers, Rowe, Rogers, Ray, J. G. Spann, 
J. Spann, Simons, Shand, J. M. Smith, G. H. Smith, W. Smith, 
S. Smith, R. B. Smith, Stringfellow, Scott, Symmes, Sims, Sin- 
gleton, Stevens, Turnbull, Tyler, Tidyman,Ulmer, Vaught, Van- 
derhorst, Walker, Williams, Woodward, Williamson, Wardlaw, 
Whatley, Whitefield, Watt, Waties, Ware, Warren, Young.— 
132. 

Noes — Brockman, Crooke, Cureton, Chesnut, Cannon, Clin- 
ton, R. Ervin, J. P. Evans, Cause, Gill, Levy, Lowry, O'Neale, 
P. Phillips, Perry, Shannon, Sistrunk, Wilson, Wilkins.— 19. 

The following letter from Judge Richardson, was then read ; 
to wit : 

"March 18, 1833. 

" Gentlemen : 

" According to my individual understanding of the end and 
object of the higli trust confided to me, by the People, who 



363 

made me a Delegate to the State Convention of South Caroli- 
na, they have been virtually fulfilled, by the present adjustment 
of the Tariff, our proceedings thereupon, and the answer to the 
Virginia Commission. I beg leave, therefore, with deep regard 
for the confidence which has been reposed, to resign my seat. 

With the highest consideration and 

respect, your obedient servant, 

J. S. RICHARDSON. 

To the President and Members of the General Convention of 
the State of South Carolina." 

This letter was ordered to lie on the table. 

The Report accompanying the Ordinance just adopted, was 
read, and on motion of Mr. Edwin J. Scott, amended, by striking 
out from the sentence preceding the last, the words after the 
word " State." The Report as amended was then adopted by 
the Convention. 

It was moved to take up the Resolutions introduced on Thurs- 
day last by Gen. Hamilton and R. Barnwell Smith, Esq., but the 
vote being taken, it was agreed not to consider them. 

The Hon. J. L. Wilson, from the Engrossing Committee, re- 
ported the Ordinance nullifying the Force Bill, as engrossed. It 
was then ratified, in the presence of the Convention, by the 
signatures of the President and Clerk. 

The Report and Ordinance, as adopted by the Convention, 
are as follows, to wit : 



REPORT. 

The Committee, to whom was referred the Act of the Congress 
of the United States, entitled " An Act further to provide for 
the collection of duties on imports," beg leave to 

REPORT: 

That they have, so far as time would allow, considered the 
Act with such attention as the importance of the matters con- 



364 

tained in it would seem to require. At the present moment, 
when a question, which has long divided and perplexed the 
country, has been adjusted, on terms calculated to quiet agita- 
tion and restore harmony, it would have been matter of peculiar 
gratification, to be able to indulge, without restraint, the feelings 
which such adjustment was calculated to excite. But your Com- 
mittee regret to say, that at the moment of returning peace, the 
most serious and alarming cause of dissatisfaction has been af- 
forded by the Act under consideration. Your Committee do 
most solemnly believe that the principles sought to be establish- 
ed by the Act, are calculated, when carried into practice, to 
destroy our Constitutional frame of Government, to subvert the 
public liberty, and to bring about the utter ruin and debasement 
of the Southern States of this Confederacy. 

The general purpose of the whole Act, though not expressed 
in the terms of it, is perfectly well known to have been to coun- 
teract and render inefficacious an Act of this State, adopted in 
her sovereign capacity, for the protection of her reserved rights. 
Believing, as we most fully do, that the power attempted to be 
exercised by the State, is among the reserved powers of the 
States, and that it may be exercised consistently with the Con- 
stitution of the United States, an opinion formed by the good 
people of this State, upon the fullest and most careful consider- 
ation, and expressed through their Delegates in Convention, 
your Committee must on that ground alone, have been convinced 
that the purpose of counteracting that Act, and the means by 
which it is sought to be counteracted, are unauthorized by the 
Constitution. We think that this will become more apparent by 
attending to the leading provisions of the Act of Congress. 

The Act gives the President of the United States, for a limit- 
ed time, an almost unlimited power of control over the com- 
merce of the whole United States ; though certainly the power 
was only contemplated to be exercised against that of South 
Carolina. 

It exempts property in the hands of the officer of the Reve- 
nue, alleged to be detained for enforcing the payment of duties, 
from liability to the process of the State Courts. 

It exempts a class of persons residing within the State — offi- 
cers of the United States, and persons employed by them, or 



365 

acting under their direction, or any other person, professing to 
act in execution of the Revenue Laws — from all responsibility 
to the State laws or State tribunals, for any crime or wrong, 
when it is alleged that the act was done in execution of the 
Revenue Laws or under color thereof. 

It gives to the same class of persons, the right to seek redress 
for any alleged injury whatever, either to person or property, 
however foreign to the proper subjects of the jurisdiction, in the 
Courts of the United States; provided the injury be received in 
consequence of any act done in execution of the Revenue Laws. 

It directly supposes all the Courts of the State to be inferior 
and subordinate to those of the United States, and provides for 
rendering them so, by directing to them the writ of certiorari 
superseding their jurisdiction. 

It affects to limit and control the jurisdiction of the Courts of 
the State ; providing for the removal of causes from their cogni- 
zance ; declaring their judgments void, and providing for the 
discharge of persons confined under their process. 

It tyrannically provides for rendering persons liable to punish- 
ment for acts done by them in execution of the laws of the State 
and the process of its Courts, to which they are bound to yield 
obedience, and which they are compelled, under the highest 
sanctions, to enforce. 

It not only provides for the punishment of persons thus acting, 
by the civil tribunals, but authorizes the employment of military 
force, under color of executing the laws of the United States, to 
resist the execution of the laws of the State ; superseding, with 
the quick execution of the sword, the slower process of Courts. 

The Act authorizes the confinement of persons in unusual 
places — which can only mean on board ships — in which persons 
from the most remote parts of the State may be confined. 

The Committee believe that all these positions are distinctly 
sustained by the Act in question, hy the Constitution of the 
United States, the power to regulate commerce, is given to 
Congress. It is an important portion of the Legislative power, 
and, as Legislative power, is incapable of delegation. Congress 
has, however, in effect, delegated to the President the power to 
abolish, at his discretion, any port of the United States, or inter- 
rupt or destroy its commerce. This may easily be effected, 



366 

under the authority to remove the Custom-house to any port or 
harbor within the Collection District, by fixing it at inconven- 
ient or inaccessible places. To say nothing of the unusual and 
tremendous character of this power, which New York or Phila- 
delphia might perhaps apprehend, if there were any expectation 
of its being exercised with respect to them, and the enormous 
abuse to which it is liable, does the Constitution contemplate or 
authorize, the delegation of this discretion to an individual ? If 
it were exercised, it would be a plain violation of that part of 
the Constitution which directs that, in regulations of commerce, 
no preference shall be given to the ports of one State over those 
of another. The same inequality is occasioned by directing the 
payment of Cash Duties. It is vain to say that this has been 
rendered necessary by the Act of the State, and without it, the 
collection of revenue would be impracticable. Whatever lati- 
tude may be allowed in the selection of means necessary and 
proper to carry into effect the granted powers of Congress, we 
believe no one has yet imagined, that a plain provision of the 
Constitution may be violated, as a means of carrying into effect 
a power granted by another provision. Although we may con- 
cede the power of Congress, for sufficient cause and in good 
faith, to abolish one port of entry and establish another, yet we, 
of course, cannot concede that it may delegate this power ; or, 
that the sovereign Act of the State, for the vindication of her 
reserved rights, constitutes sufficient cause, or that this act has 
been done in good faith. 

The provisions of the Act, that all property in the hands of 
any officer or other person, detained under any Revenue Law, 
shall be subject only to the orders and decrees of the Courts of 
the United States, plainly enact, that it shall not be subject to 
any process, order or decree of the Courts of the State. We 
have heretofore been accustomed to regard our Superior Courts 
as having jurisdiction over all persons and all property within 
the limits of the State. This jurisdiction is, of course, super- 
seded, whenever any other Court of concurrent jurisdiction has 
possession or custody of any cause or any property. But that a 
ministerial, executive officer, or that property in his hands, 
should be exempted from the jurisdiction and authority of State 



367 

Courts, we believe to be unprecedented in our legislation, and 
without any shadow of Constitutional authority. 

One of the most extraordinary and exceptionable provisions of 
the Act, appears to be that authorizing the removal, previous to 
trial, of suits or prosecutions from the State Courts, upon affida- 
vit made, and a certificate of the opinion of some counsellor or 
attorney to the same effect, that the suit or prosecution was for, 
or on account of any act done under the Revenue Laws of the 
United States, or under color thereof, or for, or on account of 
any right, authority or title, set up or claimed by any officer or 
other person, under any such law of ihe United States. If there 
be any violation of the law of the State — if there be a wrong 
done to person or property within the limits of the State — have 
not the Courts of the State jurisdiction of that matter ? By 
what authority does the Congress of the United States limit that 
jurisdiction ? What shadow of Constitutional provision is there 
to sanction this flagrant usurpation? True, such a violation of 
the law of the State may, sometimes, be justified, as being done 
in execution of a Constitutional law of the United States ; but 
this is a matter of defence, to be tried as every other defence is 
to be tried, and can have no effect in ousting the jurisdiction, or 
in giving the Courts of the United States original jurisdiction of 
offences against the State laws. So any person is authorized to 
bring suit in the Courts of the United States, for any injury to 
person or property, for, or on account of, any act done in exe- 
cution of the Revenue Laws. The Constitution gives to the 
Courts of the United States, jurisdiction of all cases in law and 
equity arising under the Constitution and laws of the United 
States. An assault on the person or trespass to property, is a 
violation of the laws of the State. Can it make a difference, 
that a violation of the State law was provoked by an act done 
under color of executing the law of the United States? The 
protection of persons and property has, heretofore, been supposed 
the province of the States. In assuming to itself this new func- 
tion, the Federal Government indicates most clearly its tendency 
to engross all power, and control all State authority. 

It is plain likewise from the various provisions of the Act, that 
such suits are intended to be allowed against persons acting 
in execution of the process of the State Courts. Judgments 



368 

of those Courts are declared to be void, and persons and pro- 
perty exempted from their jurisdiction. 

It is not only our law but part of the law of the civilized 
world, that the judgment of a Court of competent jurisdiction is 
valid, until it be reversed by a competent authority. The judg- 
ment of a Superior Court of general jurisdiction can never be 
void for want of jurisdiction. When there are Courts of concur- 
rent jurisdiction, that which obtains possession of the cause is 
entitled to retain it ; its process must be respected, and all other 
jurisdiction is excluded. It is true that the judgments of Courts 
of limited jurisdiction (and such are the Courts of the United 
States, and so they themselves have determined) are void, if the 
jurisdiction be transcended. This distinction would seem to 
determine whether sovereignty is to be attributed to the State 
or to the Federal authority. Hitherto, it has never occurred to 
any one to doubt that an officer, acting in execution of the pro- 
cess of a Court of general jurisdiction, and all persons acting 
under his direction, are exempted from all responsibility for that 
Act. He is bound under the highest sanction to execute that 
process ; and shall he be punished for performing his duty ? 

If this Act were submitted to, the entire administration of the 
criminal justice of the State might be interrupted ; and it is not 
too much to say, that the State Governments would be rendered 
impracticable. The worst criminal — one stained with the guilt 
of murder — upon making an affidavit, which no such criminal 
would hesitate to make, and procuring a certificate, which any 
criminal might easily procure, would be able to elude the crim- 
inal justice of the Slate. His cause must be removed to the 
Federal Court ; and when, upon his trial, it shall appear that his 
act was not done in execution of the law of the United States, 
your Committee do not perceive what other consequence can 
follow, than that he must be acquitted and go with impunity. 

Having taken this view of the provisions of the Act in ques- 
tion, the Committee would submit to the solemn consideration 
and determination of this Convention, whether they do not effect 
an entire change in the character of our Constitution, and will 
not, when carried into practice, abolish every vestige of liberty, 
and render this an absolute Consolidated Government, without 
limitation of powers. It has been truly said, that if these things 



369 

may be done, the most solemn acts of the highest authorities of 
the State may be regarded as the unauthorized proceedings of 
individuals ; the Courts of justice may be shut up; the Legisla- 
ture dispersed, as a lawless mob; and we, ourselves, represent- 
ing, as we vainly believe, the sovereignty of the State, called to 
answer for what we have said and done on this floor, at the bar 
of a Circuit Court of the United States. Is this an exaggerated 
picture ? Let us examine it a little more closely. If these pro- 
visions may be made to enforce the execution of the Revenue 
Laws of the United States, they may be made to enforce any 
other Act which Congress shall think proper to pass. No mat- 
ter how oppressive, how clearly unconstitutional, there is no 
power in the constituted authorities of the State to resist it. If 
one class of cases may be removed from the jurisdiction of the 
State Courts, any other class, subject only to the discretion of 
Congress, may be likewise removed. If the process of the 
Courts be void, and the officer executing it, and those acting 
under his direction, responsible civilly, or punishable criminally, 
the Judge who directed the process must be answerable in like 
manner. He was equally without authority, and having com- 
manded the act, is a partaker of the guilt. The Legislature 
who commanded the act of the Judge, and the Convention of 
the people in obedience to whose mandate every thing was done, 
must have the same participation. If the sheriff", and his posse, 
obstructing the execution of the Revenue laws, may constitute 
that unlawful combination and assemblage, on being notified of 
which, the President is authorized to use the military force of 
the United States to disperse them, then the Courts, the Legis- 
lature, or the Convention, in obedience to whose authority alone 
the Sheriff" acts, and who are the efficient causes of the obstruc- 
tion, are assemblages of similar character, and may be dispersed 
by military force. The whole purpose of the act is to con- 
found the acts of the constituted authorities of the State, how- 
ever solemn and well considered, with the lawless and irregular 
acts of individuals or mobs. The certain effect of it must be, to 
restrain the States from the exercise of any other authority than 
such as Congress, or the sectional majority represented in Con- 
gress, shall think fit to permit them to exercise ; and to ensure 
the enforcement of every law which that majority may think 
48 



370 

proper to enact. It involves the cruelty and absurdity of making 
the community responsible to hostile force for its acts as a com- 
munity, and the individuals of the community, punishable for 
their acts in obedience to the laws of their Government ; an obe- 
dience from which they cannot exempt themselves, unless they 
absolve themselves from their allegiance, by self-banishment. 

That the object of many of the politicians who supported this 
bill — the politicians of that majority in whose hands all power 
will be— is to establish a Consolidated Government, is now 
hardly at all disguised. The chimera of a Government partly 
consolidated, partly federative, is now scarcely contended for. 
The same class of politicians have always had in view the same 
object. It was attempted to be effected in the Convention 
which framed the Constitution of the United States. The at- 
tempt was there foiled. After the formation of the Government, 
those who affected Consolidation, assumed the term of " Fede- 
ral," and denied that the opinions held by them, led to that re- 
sult. The possession of power, however, developed their views, 
and the first marked indication of their disposition to engross 
the powers of the States, and meddle with their internal con- 
cerns, was afforded by the alien and sedition laws. This at- 
tempt was so strongly rebuked by public opinion, which led to 
the change of administration in 1800, that the hopes of consoli- 
dation seemed abandoned forever. They remained dormant, 
until revived by the agitations springing out of our late protect- 
ing system. It was perceived that nothing less strong than a 
consolidated Government could sustain that system of iniquity. 
Gradually, we have been told, that the States have parted with 
a portion of their sovereignty ; then, that they were never sove- 
reign ; until at length, availing themselves of the excitement of 
a particular crisis, and passion for power, and the influence of an 
individual, the act before us has been passed, sweeping away 
every vestige of State Sovereignty and Reserved Rights, or 
causing them to be held at the mercy of the majority ; compared 
to which, the alien and sedition laws sink into measures harm- 
less and insignificant. 

And what is it to the Southern States, to be subjected to a 
consolidated Government.^ These States constitute a minority, 
and are likely to do so forever. They differ in institutions and 



371 

modes of industry, from the States of the majority, and have dif- 
ferent, and in some degree, incompatible interests. It is to be 
governed, not with reference to their own interests or according 
to their own habits and feelings, but with reference to the inter- 
ests, and according to the prejudices of their rulers, the majori- 
ty. It has been truly said that the protecting system consti- 
tutes but a small part of our controversy with the Federal Gov- 
ernment. Unless we can obtain the recognition of some effec- 
tual Constitutional check on the usurpation of power, which can 
only be derived from the sovereignty of the States, and their 
right to interpose for the preservation of their reserved powers, 
we shall experience oppression more cruel and revolting than 
this. 

While there remains within the States any spirit of liberty, 
prompting them to repel Federal usurpations, one of the most 
obvious means to break that spirit and reduce the States to sub- 
jection, will be that which has been attempted by the act before 
us. It will be to create or to sustain, by the patronage of Gov- 
ernment or other means, a party within the State devoted to Fed- 
eral power, exempted from responsibility to the State authori- 
ties, and having power to harass and degrade the State authori- 
ties, by means of the tribunals of the United States. Thus will 
be created a Government within a Government, with all the con- 
sequences, which experience informs us, are likely to arise from 
that state of things, and such as did arise from the independent 
ecclesiastical jurisdictions within the Governments of Europe. 
The Federal Government will interfere with every department of 
the State Governments ; it will influence elections ; it will raise 
up and put down parties, as they shall be more servile to its will. 
Pretexts for interference will never be wanting. Already has it 
been said, that ours is no longer a Republican Government, be- 
cause the State, in vindicating its sovereignty, has refused to en- 
trust with any portion of its authority, those who deny or refuse 
to recognize that sovereignty. Other classes of individuals 
might be found, within the State, whom it might suit the major- 
ity to suppose disfranchised, in derogation of true republican 
principles, and to require their interference and protection. 
This interference will be practiced at first with moderation, and 
with some apparent respect for the rights of the States. Grad- 



372 

ually, as the power of the Government shall be established, and 
the Southern States become weakened and less capable of re- 
sistance, the shew of moderation will be thrown off. Thus the 
peace of those States will be embroiled ; their prosperity inter- 
rupted, their character degraded ; until in the natural progress 
of things, your Committee think it not too strong to say, that 
they will be more miserable, more utterly enslaved, more tho- 
roughly debased, than any provinces that have ever been ren- 
dered subject by the sword. 

In alluding to the oath, which the State has heretofore thought 
proper to exact of its citizens, and to one somewhat similar, 
which the Committee propose to recommend, they think proper 
to disclaim, as they do most solemnly disclaim, on behalf of 
themselves and the Convention, that this or any other measure 
which the Convention has adopted, has been adopted upon mere 
party views, to secure party ascendancy, or gratify party resent- 
ment. They appeal to God, that their only object has been to 
vindicate their just rights and liberties, and the common liber- 
ties of the whole South. This object they have pursued in sin- 
gleness of purpose ; though exposed to much obloquy — threat- 
ened with much danger, and discountenanced by those from 
whom they had a right to expect support. They have never 
sought to endanger this Union ; but to perpetuate it by render- 
ing it compatible with, and a security for liberty. 

The firmness of the State seems, at length, in some degree, to 
have triumphed. But let it be recollected that the moment of 
triumph is commonly one of danger. Let it be kept in mind, 
that this is not a contest ended, but a contest not more than be- 
gun, and not to be determined, till this act shall cease to dis- 
grace the statute book. Let this contest be carried on firmly, 
steadily, without passion and without faultering. If the vigilance 
of the State should relax ; if it should cease to raise up barriers 
against the head of usurpation, which threatens to overwhelm 
us, the torrent will break loose, and sweep our liberties along 
with it. Let every man consider this his own peculiar business. 
If liberty be saved, every thing is saved : If liberty be lost, every 
thing is lost. 

As the provisions of the act have reference only to certain 
acts of the people and Legislature of this State, which have been 



373 

superseded by the late modification of the Tariff, it could not 
have been contemplated that it should have any immediate ope- 
ration. And your Committee doubted whether, regarding it as 
merely a menace, they should recommend any action upon it, or 
only that the sentiments of the Convention should be expressed, 
in regard to the principles it contains. But most of its provis- 
ions are made permanent, and may be put in practice on some 
future occasion. The Committee cannot doubt that it expresses 
the true principles of many of those who voted for it, and who 
will seek occasion to reduce them to practice. As a precedent, 
it is most dangerous. The vote on the very act, shows how lit- 
tle is to be expected from a majority. It is incumbent on South 
Carolina, unsupported as she is, to take care that no federal au- 
thority, unauthorized by our federal compact, shall be exercised 
within the limits of the State. For the purpose of providing 
that the act shall never have operation or effect, within the lim- 
its of the State, the Committee beg leave to report the follow- 
ing Ordinance. 

AN ORDINANCE, 

To Nullify an Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled 
" An Act further to provide for the Collection of Duties on 
Imports," commonly called the Force Bill. 

We, the People of the State of South Carolina, in Convention as- 
sembled, do Declare and Ordain, That the Act of the Congress 
of the United States, entitled " An Act further to provide for 
the collection of duties on imports," approved the 2d day of 
March, 1833, is unauthorized by the Constitution of the United 
States, subversive of that Constitution, and destructive of pub- 
lic liberty ; and that the same is, and shall be deemed null and 
void, within the limits of this State ; and it shall be the duty of 
the Legislature, at such time as they may deem expedient, to 
adopt such measures and pass such acts as may be necessary to 
prevent the enforcement thereof, and to inflict proper penalties 
on any person who shall do any act in execution or enforcement 
of the same within the limits of this State. 
f We do further Ordain and Declare, That the allegiance of the 



374 

citizens of this State, while they continue such, is due to the 
said State : and that obedience only, and not allegiance, is due 
by them to any other power or authority, to whom a control over 
them has been, or may be delegated by the State ; and the Gen- 
eral Assembly of the said State is hereby empowered from time 
to time, when they may deem it proper, to provide for the ad- 
ministration to the citizens and officers of the State, or such of 
the said officers as they may think fit, of suitable oaths or affir- 
mations, binding them to the observance of such allegiance, and 
abjuring all other allegiance ; and, also, to define what shall 
amount to a violation of their allegiance, and to provide the 

proper punishment for such violation. ^7 

■ -• <«' 

Done in Convention, at Columbia, the eighteenth day of March, 
in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and 
thirty-three, and in the fifty-seventh year of the Sovereignty 
and Independence of the United States of America. 

ROBERT Y. HAYNE, Del- ) 

egate from the Parishes o(y President of the Convention. 
St. Philip and St. Michael, ) 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, Clerk. 

Gen. Hamilton then introduced the following Resolutions, 
which were adopted, to wit : 

" Resolved, That the Clerk do order to be printed, by the 
printer of this Convention, to be appended to the copies now on 
hand of the proceedings of the former session of the Convention, 
five hundred copies of the Journal, Ordinances, and Reports of 
the present session ; a copy of each to be distributed to each 
Member of the Convention and Legislature — also, separately, 
three thousand copies of the Ordinances and Reports of the 
present session, to be distributed to the people of this State ; 
and it be made the duty of the Clerk to attend to the distribu- 
tion of the same." 

" Resolved, That the President of this Convention do transmit 
to the President of the United States, and to the Governors of 
the several States, copies of the Reports and Ordinances of this 
Convention, adopted at its present session." 



375 

It was now moved by Gen. Hamilton, that the Convention 
should resolve itself into a Committee of the whole; which be- 
ing agreed to, Mr. Turnbull was called to the chair. Col. Sam- 
uel Warren then introduced the following Resolution, which 
was adopted unanimously, and ordered to be so entered on the 
Journal, to wit : 

^^ Resolved, unanimously, That the thanks of this Coventionbe 
presented to his Excellency, Robert Y. Hayne, for the dignity, 
ability, and impartiality, with which he has presided over its de- 
liberations." 

The Committee rose and Reported to the Convention. On 
motion of Mr. Turnbull, it was 

" Resolved, That the Convention do now adjourn, sine die, and 
that it be dissolved." 

After a prayer from the Rev. Mr. Ray, the President pro- 
nounced the Convention dissolved. 



RESOLVES 



LEGISLATURE 



ILLIMOIS. 



49 



RESOLVES. 



In the Illiivois Legislature, Dec. 26, 1832. 

Whereas, the President of the United States, in his procla- 
mation of the 10th instant, has exhibited a just view of the 
origin of our free constitution, and of the powers confided by 
that sacred instrument to the States and the General Govern- 
ment ; and whereas, by the said proclamation, the assumed 
power of a State to annul a law of Congress is conclusively 
shown to be " incompatible with the existence of the Union, 
contradicted expressly by the letter of the constitution, unau- 
thorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which 
it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it 
was formed;" and whereas, the particular application of this 
assumed power to the alleged grievances of South Carolina is 
most ably and unanswerably refuted, and the dangerous and 
treasonable doctrine of the right of secession, combated by 
the clearest reasoning, is denounced in a spirit of devoted at- 
tachment to the Union ; and whereas, also, the Executive has 
expressed a confident reliance on the undivided support of the 
nation, in his " determination to execute the laws, to preserve 
the Union by all constitutional means, and to arrest, if possible, 
by moderate but firm measures, the necessity of a recourse to 
force :" therefore 

Resolved by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in 
the General Assembly, That we highly approve the sentiments 
contained in the said proclamation, and the avowed purpose 



380 

of repelling the unconstitutional and dangerous designs an- 
nounced in the "disorganizing edict" of the South Carolina 
Convention. 

Resolved, That, whilst we admire the firmness that would 
resist " the mad project of disunion," we cordially approve the 
spirit of moderation which deprecates " any offensive act on 
the part of the United States." 

Resolved, That " disunion by armed force is treason," and 
should be treated as such by the constituted authorities of the 
nation. 

Resolved, That, whilst we deplore the spirit of disaffection 
manifested by our South Carolina brethren, and should hail 
with unmingled satisfaction their return to the first great prin- 
ciples of our Union, we hold it to be the duty of every citizen 
of the United States, without distinction of sect or party, to 
rally to the support of the great charter of American freedom. 

Resolved, That, should the pacific invitation and solemn warn- 
ing of our illustrious President fail to recall the disaffected to 
their duty — should the anti-republican doctrine of nullification 
be persisted in, and treason rear its polluted form within the 
bosom of our prosperous, patriotic, and peaceful Republic, we 
do hereby instruct our Senators in Congress, and request our 
Representative, to unite in the most speedy and vigorous meas- 
ures on the part of the General Government for the preserva- 
tion of the peace, integrity, and honor of the Union. -^ And 
we do hereby solemnly pledge the faith of our State in support 
of the administration of the laws and constitution of our 
beloved country. 

Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be trans- 
mitted to the President of the United States, to the heads of 
the several departments at Washington, and to our Senators and 
Representative in Congress. 



381 

I certify the foregoing preamble and resolutions were unani- 
mously adopted by the House of Representatives. 

DAVID PRICKETT, 

Clerk of the House of Representatives. 

ALEXANDER M. JENKINS, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

I certify the foregoing preamble and resolutions were unani- 
mously adopted by the Senate. 

JESSE B. THOMAS, Jr. 

Secretary of the Senate. 

ZADOC CASEY, 

Speaker of the Senate. 



IRBJe^a 



